Ethiopia vs Somalia
Ethiopia is 73% larger than Somalia. Somalia would fit into Ethiopia about 1.7 times.
EthiopiaSomaliaEthiopia moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
1.73×
Ethiopia is 1.73× the area of Somalia.
 Ethiopia |  Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEthiopia: 1.73× the area | 1,104,300 km²#26 of 194 | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEthiopia: 6.89× the population | 135,472,051#10 of 194 · 2025 | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEthiopia: 3.98× the density | 123 / km²#73 of 194 | 31 / km²#149 of 194 |
| Urban populationSomalia: 2.29× the urban share | 24%#182 of 192 · 2025 | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSomalia: 1.54× the births per woman | 3.91 per woman#26 of 192 · 2024 | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSomalia: 0.79 points higher | +2.55%#24 of 192 · 2025 | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSomalia: 1.34× the birth rate | 31.5 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2024 | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSomalia: 1.64× the death rate | 5.9 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Somalia: 7.8 points higher | 38.8%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Ethiopia: 0.7 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSomalia: 0.4 per 1,000 higher | +0.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2025 | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSomalia: 37.5× the refugees for its size | 1.21 per 1,000#54 of 190 · 2025 | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEthiopia: 8.6 years longer | 67.6 years#146 of 192 · 2024 | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySomalia: 1.9× the infant mortality | 34.5 per 1,000 births#36 of 191 · 2024 | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development IndexEthiopia: 0.093 higher | 0.497#177 of 190 · 2023 | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaEthiopia: 1.73× the income per person | $1,110#168 of 185 · 2025 | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPEthiopia: 9.72× the economy | $126.36B2025 | $13B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Ethiopia: 2.2× the output per person | $3,622#165 of 184 · 2025 | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthEthiopia: 6.8 points higher | +9.8%#5 of 187 · 2025 | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +13.2%#17 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentSomalia: 5.73× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 38.6%#23 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 31.1#110 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureEthiopia: 30.1 points higher | 60.1% of jobs#14 of 178 · 2025 | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySomalia: 11.4 points higher | 6.4% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSomalia: 18.8 points higher | 33.4% of jobs#161 of 178 · 2025 | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSomalia: 3.4 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSomalia: 15.9 points higher | 13.3% of GDP#153 of 168 · 2025 | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSomalia: 3.14× the military spending | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 155 · 2025 | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSomalia: 1.27× the share online | 22%#171 of 184 · 2024 | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEthiopia: 1.2× the mobile subscriptions | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2024 | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEthiopia: 3.05× the forest share | 24% of land#113 of 192 · 2024 | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personEthiopia: 3.0× the CO₂ per person | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySomalia: 4.8 points higher | 90.6%#7 of 190 · 2021 | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityEthiopia: 2.2 points higher | 56.6%#167 of 192 · 2024 | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Ethiopia: 1.29× the air pollution | 23.8 µg/m³#63 of 191 · 2023 | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEthiopia: 17.0 points higher | 17.0% of land#100 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEthiopia: 12.8 points higher | 14.6% of land#75 of 190 · 2024 | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEthiopia: 1.32× the water stress | 32.3%#52 of 176 · 2022 | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEthiopia: 3.01× the rain and snow | 848 mm#101 of 180 · 2022 | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityEthiopia: 0.32 higher | −1.85#183 of 193 · 2025 | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEthiopia: 1.32 higher | −0.37#108 of 193 · 2025 | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Member of | BRICS | — |
| Capital | Addis Ababa | Mogadishu |
| Currency | Ethiopian birr (ETB) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
| Official languages | Amharic | Arabic, Somali |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +251 | +252 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ethiopia sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Ethiopia bigger than Somalia?
- Yes. Ethiopia is 73% larger than Somalia. Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Somalia fit into Ethiopia?
- About 1.7 times: Ethiopia has 1.73× the area of Somalia.
- Why do Ethiopia and Somalia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ethiopia is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Somalia about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Ethiopia or Somalia?
- Ethiopia: 135,472,051 people against 19,654,739. Density: Ethiopia 123 per km², Somalia 31 per km².
- Which is richer, Ethiopia or Somalia?
- By gross national income per person, Ethiopia: $1,110 against $640 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.73× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Somalia?
- In Ethiopia: life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years, against 59.0 — 8.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Ethiopia and Somalia have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: parliamentary republic (CIA World Factbook).