Location

Ethiopia is located in eastern Africa, west of Somalia, near the equator and borders Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan. How far is Ethiopia from your place? Its area is 1,127,000 square kilometers.

Climate

Ethiopia's climate is tropical monsoon with a wide topographic-induced variation; although Ethiopia is relatively close to the equator, its high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley has a temperate climate with an annual temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. Only in the east towards the Red Sea and west near Sudan does it get very hot. The main rainy season occurs between mid June and mid September; there is also a bit of rain in March and April. The amount of rainfall is about 140 ml to 170 ml; there are frequent droughts. The geologically active Great Rift Valley in central Ethiopia is susceptible to earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

People

In Ethiopia, there are about 65,891,800 people. In Ethiopia, the people eat poultry and pig, but not cows due to their religious belief that it is sacred. Ehtnic groups in Ethiopia are the Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, and the Gurage 2%.

Economy

Ethiopia's economy is based on farming, which accounts for half of the GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment. Farming suffers from frequent periods of drought and poor cultivation practices, and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually. Coffee is important to the Ethiopian economy, and Ethiopia earned $267 million in 1999 by exporting 105,000 metric tons of coffee. According to current estimates, coffee contributes 10% of Ethiopia's GDP. More than 15 million people (25% of the population) derive their livelihood from the coffee industry. Other exports include live animals, hides, gold, and qat.

Life

Languages spoken in Ethiopia are Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, and English, which is the major foreign language taught in schools. Religions found in Ethiopia are Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, and animist 12%.

Government

The government is a federal republic; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world, at least 2,000 years old. Since August 22, 1995, the chief of state is President Negasso Gidada, and the head of government is Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. On January 19, Ethiopian Christmas is celebrated when they celebrate baptism. At the festival of timkat (which runs for 3 days), priests remove the symbolic Ark of the Covenant. Ethiopian New Year's, Enkutatash, is celebrated on September 11. 35.5% of Ethiopia's population can read and write over the age of 15. 45.5% of Ethiopian males are literate, whereas only 25.3% of Ethiopian females can read and write.

By Hailey Butler