Primary insomnia is subtype of primary sleep disorder that affects a large percentage of general population. The true prevalence of the problem is not well known in developing countries including Ethiopia. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence and pattern of primary Insomnia among adults in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected sample of 422 adults using validated and pretested Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire for data collection in April 2016. Data were entered into EpiData, analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 20 and results were presented using tables and figures. Of the total 422 participants, the overall prevalence of primary Insomnia was 55.5% with higher proportion among males (63.7%), 40 to 49 years age (28.6%), merchants (38.6%) and lower income groups (52.1%). The symptoms of primary insomnia: difficulties initiating sleep, night awakenings and a nonrestorative sleep were complained by 82.6, 78.1 and 78.9% of participants respectively. In addition, 29.4% of the total group had at least one sleep problem at least three times per week for a month and 11% had two or three sleep problems with impaired daytime alertness. Among Insomniac participants, 23.5% and 4.7% were respectively identified to have moderate & severe primary insomnia in the study community. There was high prevalence and symptoms of primary insomnia in the study community. The higher rate of the problem was reported among 40 to 49 years age, males, merchants and people with lower income. As sleep habits may be a marker for health status and quality of life, prospective studies by strong methods are needed to better understand the complex interplay between primary insomnia and presumed risk factors.

Keywords: Key words: Primary insomnia, prevalence, pattern and adults.