Traditionally pastoralists, the Daasanach are one of the largest Indigenous Peoples in Ethiopia with a population estimated to be about 48,000 people.
Their main homeland is in the Debub Omo Zone, around the Northern side of Lake Turkana in southern Ethiopia.
In recent years, the Daasanach have become more agropastoral, growing sorghum, maize, pumpkins and beans in addition to herding goats and cattle.
The Daasanach are sometimes referred to as the Merille–especially by their neighbours, the Turkana of Kenya.