The term Habesha (Ge'ez: ሐበሻ Ḥabaśā, Amharic (H)ābešā, Tigrinya: ^? Ḥābešā; Arabic: الحبشة ‎ al-Ḥabašah) refers to the South Semitic-speaking group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to those people who ruled the Axumite Empire and the kingdom known as DʿMT (usually vocalized Diʿamat).

Peoples referred to as "Habesha" today include the Amhara, Tigray-Tigrinya and Tigre ethnic groups of Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are predominantly Oriental Christians and have been since AD 332, with exception to Tigre who are predominantly Muslim. The Amhara and Tigray ethnicities combined make up about 33% of Ethiopia's population (ca. 24.6 million Amhara, 5.5 million Tigray), while the Tigrinya & Tigre combined make up 85% (55% plus 30% respectively) of Eritrea's population (ca. 5 of 5.9 million).

The term also includes the Semitic-speaking Gurage and Harari people in Ethiopia, due to their common descent from the Ge'ez speaking Axumite civilization, and strong historical links to the Amhara and Tigray. While the term Habesha has come to be associated with adherents of the Orthodox Christian faith, the term actually predates the conversion of Axum to Christianity, and refers generally to speakers of Ethiopic (Ethiosemitic) regardless of religion. Thus the Harari who are almost exclusively Muslim are still considered Habesha.