About Ethiopia

About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is, officially, named the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and it is second most populous country of Africa having more than 108 mln (July 2018 est.) inhabitants. It is also one of the oldest sites of human existence and during the Scramble of Africa; Ethiopia was the only African country which retained independence.

Ethiopia is one of the biggest economies of East Africa and Central Africa in terms of GDP, and it is one of the fastest growing economics of the world.

Flag and Emblem of FDRE

The flag of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has three colors which are set horizontally. Green is on the top , yellow in the middle and red at the bottom, and a blue circular background is found on the centre .When the African nations became independent after World War II, many countries adopted the colors of Ethiopian flag.

Area

The total area of Ethiopia is 1,104,300 square kilometers and there is great variation in the climate, natural vegetation, soils and settlement patterns. 65% of total area is arable and 15 % is cultivable.

People

Ethiopia is multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural nation where 62.8% of inhabitants are Christians, 33.9% are Muslims, 2.6 % of other faiths and 0.6 % of other religion (as per 2007 census).The constitution guarantees equal religious, political and social rights to its citizens.

Capital City

The capital city of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, and it was founded in 1883 by Emperor Minilik II. It is largest city of Ethiopia having population of 3,384,569 (as per 2007 census).

Official Language

There are total 90 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia and there are 3 official languages of Ethiopia – Amharic, Tigrigna and Oromifa. English is widely spoken in the country and FDRE has adopted Amharic as the official language .The nine member states have been provided the rights to fix on their working language.

Climate

The climate of Ethiopia is mainly tropical monsoon and the temperature is almost uniform throughout the year .The climate is rainy and light rains can be seen from March to May and dry season prevails from October to February. The average day temperature varies from 20 to 25 °C.

Economic Indicators

Ethiopia has agriculture based economy and it is one of the fastest growing non – oil dependent economy of Africa. The country is largest producer of maize and coffee is its major export commodity. More than 70% of Ethiopia's population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP. Yet despite progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, due both to rapid population growth and a low starting base.

Transport and Communication

Currently, the government is negotiating to privatize transportation and there are many roads and railways in Ethiopia which promotes transportation.

• Roads – Ethiopia has total of 120,171 km (2018) of roads which includes both paved and gravel (2002) roads.
• Railway – On the Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway route 681 km of narrow gauge has been built.
• Port and Harbor – Ethiopia uses the Djibouti harbor for major imports.
• Airport – There are 84 airports in the country (in 2005), out of which only 14 have paved runways. Addis Ababa Airport is the main international airport which also handles jet transportation and domestic air traffic.

Currency Unit

The local currency of Ethiopia is Birr.