Amharic

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara. It is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the "official working" language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and thus has official status and use nationwide.

Outside Ethiopia, Amharic is the language of some 2.7 million emigrants (notably in Egypt, Israel and Sweden). There are approximately 27 million total speakers as a first language, between 7-15 million more as a second language.

See also:

bbc.co.uk Country Profile - Ethiopia