ETHIOPIA · MIGRATION
Key Facts
- —The country Ethiopia is a landlocked East African country of more than 120 million people, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
- —What happened Fana Media Corporation reported on Monday 26 October 2026 that 1,561 citizens returned from Saudi Arabia in seven flights.
- —Who came home The group had 929 men, 580 women and 52 children, and 99 of the returnees were teenagers under 18.
- —The total More than 111,000 Ethiopians have returned since the effort began on 15 September 2025, according to ministry data cited by Fana.
- —The pace The week before brought 1,447 returnees, so the latest count is 114 higher but below the 2,463 of 31 August.
- —Support Officials give returnees care at the airport and in holding centres and work to reunite them with their families.
- —Still open How many Ethiopians remain in Saudi detention, and when the programme will end.
Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia in weekly groups, and 1,561 came home in seven flights, Fana Media Corporation reported on Monday 26 October 2026. The group had 929 men, 580 women and 52 children who had lived in difficult conditions there.
The count is 114 above the 1,447 of a week earlier, and the total now stands above 111,000 since 15 September 2025. Saudi Arabia is a close US partner in the Gulf, so the flights touch a human-rights question US readers follow.
Who Came Home in the Latest Week
Fana said the 1,561 returnees included 929 men, 580 women and 52 children, and that 99 were teenagers under 18. Because the three groups already add up to 1,561, the 99 teenagers are counted within them and not on top.
Women made up about 37 percent of the group as Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia, roughly double the 18 percent of the week before. The 19 October report counted 1,139 men, 261 women and 47 children, citing the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs.
A Programme Past 111,000 People
Ministry data put the total at more than 111,000 since the effort began on 15 September 2025, or 5 Meskerem 2018 in the Ethiopian calendar. Fana’s English reports gave more than 92,000 on 11 August, more than 104,000 on 28 September and more than 105,000 on 5 October.
When Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia, Fana’s English reports credit the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs for the weekly breakdowns. The latest Amharic report cites only “the ministry” for the cumulative total.
How the Weekly Numbers Have Moved
Fana reported 2,463 returnees on 31 August, 1,592 on 21 September, 1,273 on 28 September, 1,701 on 5 October and 1,447 on 19 October. The latest 1,561 is 114 more than the week before and below the late-August peak.
The pace at which Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia has swung between 1,273 and 2,494 a week since late August. Fana does not explain the swings or say how many people each flight carried.
Why Ethiopians Are Flown Home From Saudi Arabia
The Reporter, an Ethiopian newspaper, said in July that the Foreign Ministry began helping 1,971 citizens return after Saudi royal amnesty. It called Saudi Arabia host to one of the largest Ethiopian migrant populations in the Middle East.
The Reporter said the International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, counted 26,400 Ethiopians deported in early 2026, up 106 percent from 12,800. Many Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia by deportation too, and men made up 92 percent of those returnees, with at least 679 underage.
Rights Concerns Behind the Flights
Human Rights Watch, a rights group, said in July that Saudi authorities executed at least 17 Ethiopians in 2026 on drug charges, the Reporter said. The group added that at least 79 others faced imminent risk of execution and raised concerns about legal representation.
Fana’s report does not link the weekly returns to those cases. It describes the 1,561 only as citizens who had been living in difficult conditions.
What Happens After They Land
Fana said officials give returnees care at the airport and in holding centres and work to reunite them with their families. Its English reports credit the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs with that support.
Fana dated its Amharic report 16 Tikimt 2019, which is 26 October 2026 in the Ethiopian calendar. That calendar runs about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one, which explains the different year numbers in local reports.
What It Means for US Readers
Saudi Arabia is one of Washington’s closest Gulf partners, so the treatment of migrants there is a standing human-rights question for US lawmakers. As Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia each week, the count tracks one migration route from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf.
Aid groups and officials who follow trafficking and reintegration can use the figures as a gauge of pressure on Ethiopian households. The wider regional picture is in Horn of Africa 2026: Why It Matters and Who Backs Whom.
What Is Not Known
Fana did not say how many Ethiopians are still held in Saudi detention centres or are waiting for a flight. It gave no reason why Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia in such varied weekly numbers and no cost figure.
The report gives no end date for the programme and does not say where the 1,561 had been living in Saudi Arabia. No second Ethiopian outlet had published the 1,561 count when this report was written.
More: Ethiopia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Ethiopians returned from Saudi Arabia in the latest week?
Fana Media Corporation reported on Monday 26 October 2026 that 1,561 Ethiopians returned from Saudi Arabia in the latest week, on seven flights. They were 929 men, 580 women and 52 children.
How many Ethiopians have come home from Saudi Arabia in total?
Ministry data cited by Fana put the total at more than 111,000 people since the effort began on 15 September 2025. The count was above 105,000 in the report of 5 October.
Why are Ethiopians being flown home from Saudi Arabia?
Fana describes the returnees as citizens who had been living in difficult conditions in Saudi Arabia. The Reporter, an Ethiopian newspaper, said in July that Saudi Arabia granted 1,971 Ethiopians royal amnesty and the Foreign Ministry then helped them return.
Which Ethiopian body publishes the figures?
Fana’s English reports attribute the weekly breakdowns to the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. The latest Amharic report cites only ministry data for the 111,000 total.
Why do Ethiopian reports show a different year?
Ethiopia uses its own calendar, which is about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one. Fana’s report of 26 October 2026 carries the date 16 Tikimt 2019.
Sources: Fana Media Corporation (Amharic), 26 October 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 19 October 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 5 October 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 28 September 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 21 September 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 31 August 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 24 August 2026; Fana Media Corporation (English), 11 August 2026; The Reporter Ethiopia, August 2026; The Reporter Ethiopia, July 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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