The Amharic language is spoken by the Amhara ethnic group which lives in the central highlands of the country of Ethiopia. The Amhara people comprise approximately 30 percent of the Ethiopia's population. An additional 7-15 million people speak it as a second language. It is established as the working language of government institutions, the Ethiopian military, and of the Ethiopic Orthodox church. Amharic is also the language of some 2.7 million Ethiopian emigrants. The largest population of expatriates live in Egypt, Israel, and Sweden. Increasing numbers of Ethiopians have emigrated to the United States in recent years.
