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Amhara is the ethnicity of people in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 15 million, 27% of the country's population. They speak Amharic, which appertains to the South-Western Semitic languages group. Their predominant religion is Christianity of the Ethiopian Church.
The Amhara have been Ethiopia's ruling elite for centuries, represented by the line of emperors ending in Haile Selassie.
The Amhara are known for their beauty, as exemplified by the supermodel Liya Kebede.
Amhara is also one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar. Covering 156,960 km2 in the northwest of the country, its population (as of 1999) is 15,850,000.
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