Regional state

Amhara

The Simien Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape · photo: Hulivili, CC BY 2.0 (source)

Amhara is a regional state of Ethiopia, covering 155,639 km² — 13.8% of the national territory, 3rd of the 12 regional states by area. Its administrative centre is Bahir Dar. Its projected 2022 population is 22,530,515 — about 145 people per km². It comprises 14 zones and 225 woredas (districts). It contains 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Amhara spans the central and north-western highlands around Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile. It holds three of Ethiopia's World Heritage sites — the Simien Mountains, the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, and Gondar's castle compound Fasil Ghebbi — and Ras Dashen, the country's highest summit, rises in its Simien range.

Sources: Britannica — Lake Tana · UNESCO — Simien National Park

Where Amhara sits in Ethiopia

155,639

km²

13.8%

of national territory

zones

225

woredas

22,530,515

people (2022 proj.)

145

per km²

3rd

by area of 12 states

Administrative centreBahir Dar

P-codeET03

Boundary valid from2025-01-01

World Heritage

Simien National Park

natural · inscribed 1978

Lalibela

cultural · inscribed 1978

Fasil Ghebbi (Gondar)

cultural · inscribed 1979

Zones

Awi Bahir Dar town Admin Central Gondar East Gojam North Gojam North Gondar North Shewa (AM)North Wello Oromo Nationality Administration South Gondar South Wello Wag Hamra West Gojam West Gondar

View Amhara on the map →

Every figure on this page is computed from the OCHA COD-AB Ethiopia dataset (April 2026 release, CC BY 3.0 IGO). Richer geographic and historical profiles, with cited sources, arrive in Phase 2.