The Least You Need To Know About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located on the horn of Africa. It has been land locked since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 (after a long bloody war). Ethiopia is culturally diverse. It’s 75 million people are divided among over 80 different ethnic groups, although most belong to either the Oromo, Amhara, Tigray or Somali groups. The official language is Amharic, but there are over 84 other languages spoken. Secondary school is taught in English. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world. Lucy was discovered in Ethiopia and since then it has been referred to as “the cradle of humanity”. Ethiopia also has the distinction of being the only African nation to never be colonized, although it was briefly occupied during the second world war. Ethiopia’s capital is Addis Ababa, which means “new flower”. Before then, the capital was moved whenever the region ran out of wood for fuel. Since the introduction of the fast growing Eucalyptus, the capital has not needed to move. Addis Ababa, is home to Africa’s largest open air market. Hopefully we will get to go shopping during our trip! Historically, Ethiopia was ruled by an Emperor (purportedly a decendant of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba). A coup in the 70’s overthrew Haile Selassie and a communist dictatorship ruled. Ethiopia held its first democratic election in the early 1990’s, though the international community is divided on how democratic recent elections have actually been. Ethiopia has three distinct climatic regions determined mainly by elevation. The coolest zone: above 2,400 m where temperatures range from near freezing to 16 °C; the temperate zone at elevations of 1,500 to 2,400 meters (4,900–7,900 ft) with temperatures from 16 to 30 °C; and the hot zone below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) with both tropical and arid conditions and daytime temperatures ranging from 27 to 50 °C. Addis Ababa is located in the temperate zone. The topography of Ethiopia ranges from several very high mountain ranges (the Semien Mountians and the Bale Mountains), to one of the lowest areas of land in Africa, the Danakil depression. The normal rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September (longer in the southern highlands) preceded by intermittent showers from February or March; the remainder of the year is generally dry. Ethiopia uses the Ge’ez calendar. The calendar is divided into 12 months of 30 days each. The current year in Ethiopia is 1999. The new year usually falls on September 11th, so this September will mark the beginning of a new millennium in Ethiopia! The main religion in Ethiopia is Christianity, with most of those falling into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. There is also a large muslim population. Judaism and Animism are also practiced. Ethiopia’s economy is based largely on agriculture. The biggest export crop is… you guessed it… coffee. Fifty percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Becoming landlocked with the loss of Eritrea and lack of infrasturcture (only 15% of roads are paved) make trade difficult. The following statistics are from UNICEF: Ethiopia has 4 800 000 orphans ranging in age from 0-17. The average life expectancy is 48. The GNI per capita is $160 USD. 23% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. 33% of exports are used to service debt. Female genital mutilation has a prevalence of between 69 and 76%. 43% of children (age 5-14) are involved in child labour. Only 22% of the population has access to improved drinking water. 38% of children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. 47% of children under 5 suffer from moderate to severe growth stunting. I would like to credit all the sources for this information… but I can’t. I have learned so much about Ethiopia in the past year that I can’t keep track of where it has all come from. Having said that, I have copied parts from Wikipedia (mostly the bit about climate) and UNICEF. Hopefully you have learned something about a country that I have never visited, but where part of my heart resides.