ETHIOPIA
Also known as: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
Quick Facts
| Location | Eastern Africa , west of Somalia |
| Size | total: 1,127,127 sq km land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
| Capitals | Addis Ababa |
| Languages | Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) |
| Ethnic groups | Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% |
| Population | 73,053,286 |
| Religion | Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% |
| Chief of State | President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001) |
| Government type | federal republic |
| GDP | $54.89 billion (2004 est.) |
| Industries | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
| Currency | birr (ETB) |
| Internet country code | .et |
| Time zone | UTC/GMT +3 hours |
On this page, you will find:
- Country- Map, Flag & Coat of Arms
- Introduction
- Journey Element 1: Nature & Wildlife (Natural Environment; Plants & Wildlife)
- Journey Element 2: Life & Society (History, Society & Culture, Government & Politics)
- Journey Element 3: Trade, Travel & Economy (Transportation, Communication, Economy, Tourism)
- Journey Element 4: Highlights, Current Events & Helpful Links (Highlights & amazing statistics, Current events, Other Helpful Links)
Country- Map, Flag & Coat of Arms
| Map | Map in context (From Wikipedia) |
| Flag | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors |
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender sensitive territory.
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Journey Element 1: Nature & Wildlife
Natural Environment
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Plants & Wildlife
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Journey Element 2: Life & Society
History Overview
The Kingdom of Aksum, the first verifiable kingdom of great power to rise in Ethiopia, rose during the first century CE. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time. It was in the early 4th century that a Syro-Greek castaway, Frumentius, was taken to the court and eventually converted king Ezana to Christianity, thereby making it official. For this accomplishment, he received the title "Abba Selama". At various times, including a period in the 6th century, Axum controlled most of modern-day Yemen just across the Red Sea. The line of rulers descended from the Axumite kings was broken several times: first by the Jewish Queen Gudit around 950, then by the Zagwe dynasty. Around 1270, the Solomonid dynasty came to control Ethiopia, claiming descent from the kings of Axum. They called themselves Neguse Negest ("King of Kings," or Emperor), basing their claims on their direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba. During the reign of Emperor Lebna Dengel, Ethiopia made its first successful diplomatic contact with a European country, Portugal. This proved to be an important development, for when the Empire was subjected to the attacks of the Somali General and Imam, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (called "Grany", or "the Left-handed"), Portugal responded to Lebna Dengel's plea for help with an army of 400 men, who helped his son Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule. However, Jesuit missionaries eventually offended the Orthodox faith of the local Ethiopians, and in the mid-17th century Emperor Fasilidos expelled these missionaries. At the same time, the Oromo people began to question the Ethiopian Christian authorities in the Abyssinian territories, and demanded to keep their own religion. All of this contributed to Ethiopia's isolation during the 1700s. The Emperors became figureheads, controlled by warlords like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray. Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that concluded an alliance between the two nations; however, it was not until the reign of Tewodros II that Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again. The 1880s were marked by the European colonization of Africa and some modernisation, when the Italians began to vie with the British for influence in bordering regions. Assab, a port near the southern entrance of the Red Sea, was bought from the local sultan in March 1870 by an Italian company, which by 1882 led to the Italian colony of Eritrea. Conflicts between the two countries resulted in the Battle of Adowa in 1896, whereby the Ethiopians surprised the world by defeating the colonial power and remaining independent. Italy and Ethiopia signed a provisional treaty of peace on October 26, 1896. The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who undertook the rapid modernization of Ethiopia -- interrupted only by the brief Italian occupation (1936 - 1941). British and patriot Ethiopian troops liberated the Ethiopian homeland in 1941, and Ethiopia's regained sovereignty was recognised by Britain upon the signing of the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944. Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in 1974, when a pro-Soviet Marxist-Leninist military junta, the "Derg", deposed him and established a one-party socialist state. The ensuing regime suffered several bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a massive refugee problem. In 1977 Somalia attacked Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, but Ethiopia defeated them with Cuban military assistance the following year. The Derg regime was finally defeated in 1991 by the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of rebel forces. In 1993, the Province of Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia, following a referendum. In 1994, a constitution was adopted, that led to Ethiopia's first multiparty elections in the following year. In May 1998, a dispute over the undemarcated border with Eritrea led to the Eritrean-Ethiopian War that lasted until June 2000. This has hurt the nation's economy, but strengthened the ruling coalition. On May 15, 2005, Ethiopia held another multiparty election, and resulted in the EPRDF's disputed return to power. In early June, police under the command of the EPRDF shot and killed demonstrators who were protesting the alleged election fraud. From Wikipedia. |
Significant dates & events
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| Early times |
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The Kingdom of Aksum, the first verifiable kingdom of great power to rise in Ethiopia, rose during the first century CE. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time. |
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| 300s | Missionaries from Egypt and Syria introduced Christianity. It was in the early 4th century that a Syro-Greek castaway, Frumentius, was taken to the court and eventually converted king Ezana to Christianity, thereby making it official. For this accomplishment, he received the title "Abba Selama". |
| 600s | Following the rise of Islam in the seventh century, Ethiopia was gradually cut off from European Christendom. At various times, including a period in the 6th century, Axum controlled most of modern-day Yemen just across the Red Sea. |
| 1270 | Around this time, the Solomonid dynasty came to control Ethiopia, claiming descent from the kings of Axum. They called themselves Neguse Negest ("King of Kings," or Emperor), basing their claims on their direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba. |
| 1493 | The Portuguese established contact with Ethiopia, primarily to strengthen their influence over the Indian Ocean and to convert Ethiopia to Roman Catholicism. |
| 1500s-1600s | There followed a century of conflict between pro- and anti-Catholic factions, resulting in the expulsion of all foreign missionaries in the 1630s. This period of bitter religious conflict contributed to hostility toward foreign Christians and Europeans, which persisted into the 20th century and was a factor in Ethiopia's isolation until the mid-19th century. |
| 1800s- 1900s | Under the Emperors Theodore II (1855-68), Johannes IV (1872-89), and Menelik II (1889-1913), the kingdom was consolidated and began to emerge from its medieval isolation. When Menelik II died, his grandson, Lij Iyassu, succeeded to the throne but soon lost support because of his Muslim ties. The 1880s were marked by the European colonization of Africa and some modernisation, when the Italians began to vie with the British for influence in bordering regions. Assab, a port near the southern entrance of the Red Sea, was bought from the local sultan in March 1870 by an Italian company, which by 1882 led to the Italian colony of Eritrea. Conflicts between the two countries resulted in the Battle of Adowa in 1896, whereby the Ethiopians surprised the world by defeating the colonial power and remaining independent. Italy and Ethiopia signed a provisional treaty of peace on October 26, 1896. |
| 1916 | The Christian nobility deposed Lij Iyassu in 1916, and Menelik's daughter, Zewditu, was made empress. Her cousin, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was made regent and successor to the throne. |
| 1930 | In 1930, after the Zewditu died, the regent, adopting the throne name Haile Selassie, was crowned emperor. |
| 1936 | Haile Selassie's reign was interrupted when Italian Fascist forces invaded and occupied Ethiopia. The emperor was forced into exile in England despite his plea to the League of Nations for intervention. |
| 1941 | British and Ethiopian forces defeated the Italians, and Haile Selassie returned to the throne. |
| 1974 | After a period of civil unrest, which began in February 1974, the aging Haile Selassie I was deposed on September 12, 1974, and a provisional administrative council of soldiers, known as the Derg ("committee") seized power from the emperor and installed a government, which was socialist in name and military in style. The Derg summarily executed 59 members of the royal family and ministers and generals of the emperor's government. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam assumed power as head of state and Derg chairman, after having his two predecessors killed. Mengistu's years in office were marked by a totalitarian-style government and the country's massive militarization, financed by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and assisted by Cuba. |
| 1975 | Emperor Haile Selassie was strangled in the basement of his palace on August 22, 1975. |
| 1976 | In December, an Ethiopian delegation in Moscow signed a military assistance agreement with the Soviet Union. |
| 1977- 1978 | Thousands of suspected enemies of the Derg were tortured and/or killed in a purge called the "red terror." Communism was officially adopted during the late 1970s and early 1980s with the promulgation of a Soviet-style constitution, Politburo, and the creation of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE). In April 1977, Ethiopia abrogated its military assistance agreement with the United States and expelled the American military missions. In July 1977, sensing the disarray in Ethiopia, Somalia attacked across the Ogaden Desert in pursuit of its irredentist claims to the ethnic Somali areas of Ethiopia. Ethiopian forces were driven back deep inside their own frontier but, with the assistance of a massive Soviet airlift of arms and Cuban combat forces, they stemmed the attack. |
| 1978 | The major Somali regular units were forced out of the Ogaden in March. Twenty years later, development in the Somali region of Ethiopia lagged. |
| 1989 | The Derg's collapse was hastened by droughts and famine, as well as by insurrections, particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea. The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition movements to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). |
| 1991 | In May, EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa. Mengistu fled the country for asylum in Zimbabwe, where he still resides. In July, the EPRDF, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and others established the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) which was comprised of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution. In May 1991, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), led by Isaias Afwerki, assumed control of Eritrea and established a provisional government. |
| 1992 | In June, the OLF withdrew from the government. |
| 1993 | In March, members of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition left the government. This provisional government independently administered Eritrea until April 23-25, when Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-monitored free and fair referendum. Eritrea was with Ethiopia's consent declared independent on April 27, and the United States recognized its independence on April 28. |
| 1994 | In Ethiopia, President Meles Zenawi and members of the TGE pledged to oversee the formation of a multi-party democracy. The election for a 547-member constituent assembly was held in June, and this assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December. |
| 1995 | The elections for Ethiopia's first popularly chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and June. Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections, ensuring a landslide victory for the EPRDF. International and non-governmental observers concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they chosen to do so. The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was installed in August. |
| 2005 | On May 15, Ethiopia held another multiparty election, and resulted in the EPRDF's disputed return to power. In early June, police under the command of the EPRDF shot and killed demonstrators who were protesting the alleged election fraud. |
Society & Culture
Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 77 different ethnic groups with their own distinct languages within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.
In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands, while Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to inhabit lowland regions. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools. Amharic is the official language and was the language of primary school instruction but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya.
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Government & Politics
Ethiopia is a federal republic under the 1994 constitution. The executive branch includes a president, Council of State, and Council of Ministers. Executive power resides with the prime minister. There is a bicameral parliament; national legislative elections were held in 2005. The judicial branch comprises federal and regional courts.
Suffrage is universal at age 18.
In 2003, Ethiopia continued its transition from a unitary to a federal system of government. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically based authorities. Ethiopia today has 9 semi-autonomous administrative regions and two special city administrations (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa), which have the power to raise their own revenues. Under the present government, Ethiopians enjoy wider, albeit circumscribed, political freedom than ever before in Ethiopia's history.
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Journey Element 3: Trade, Travel & Economy
The current government has embarked on a cautious program of economic reform, including privatization of state enterprises and rationalization of government regulation. While the process is still ongoing, so far the reforms have attracted only meager foreign investment.
The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, which contributes 47% to GNP and more than 80% of exports, and employs 85% of the population. The major agricultural export crop is coffee, providing 35% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings, down from 65% a decade ago because of the slump in coffee prices since the mid-1990s. Other traditional major agricultural exports are hides and skins, pulses, oilseeds, and the traditional "khat," a leafy shrub that has psychotropic qualities when chewed. Sugar and gold production has also become important in recent years.
Ethiopia's agriculture is plagued by periodic drought, soil degradation caused by inappropriate agricultural practices and overgrazing, deforestation, high population density, undeveloped water resources, and poor transport infrastructure, making it difficult and expensive to get goods to market. Yet agriculture is the country's most promising resource. Potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock, flowers, grains, oilseeds, sugar, vegetables, and fruits.
Gold, marble, limestone, and small amounts of tantalum are mined in Ethiopia. Other resources with potential for commercial development include large potash deposits, natural gas, iron ore, and possibly oil and geothermal energy. Although Ethiopia has good hydroelectric resources, which power most of its manufacturing sector, it is totally dependent on imports for its oil. A landlocked country, Ethiopia has relied on the port of Djibouti since the 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea. Ethiopia is connected with the port of Djibouti by road and rail for international trade. Of the 23,812 kilometers of all-weather roads in Ethiopia, 15% are asphalt. Mountainous terrain and the lack of good roads and sufficient vehicles make land transportation difficult and expensive. However, the government-owned airline's reputation is excellent. Ethiopian Airlines serves 38 domestic airfields and has 42 international destinations.
Dependent on a few vulnerable crops for its foreign exchange earnings and reliant on imported oil, Ethiopia lacks sufficient foreign exchange earnings. The financially conservative government has taken measures to solve this problem, including stringent import controls and sharply reduced subsidies on retail gasoline prices. Nevertheless, the largely subsistence economy is incapable of meeting the budget requirements for drought relief, an ambitious development plan, and indispensable imports such as oil. The gap has largely been covered through foreign assistance inflows.
Transportation
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Communication
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Economy
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Tourism
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Journey Element 4: Highlights, Current Events & Helpful Links
Highlights & amazing statistics
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Other Helpful Links
| Coming from the road! |
