Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Amharic ኢትዮጵያ Ityopp'ya), is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and Sudan to the west. It has one of the most extensive known histories as an independent nation on the continent, or indeed in the world. Unique among African countries, Ethiopia maintained independence during the Scramble for Africa, and continued to do so except for a 5 year period when it was under Italian occupation. Ethiopia was historically calledAbyssinia. The English name "Ethiopia" is thought to be derived from the Greek word ΑἰθιοπίαAithiopia, from ΑἰθίοψAithiops ‘an Ethiopian’, derived from Greek terms meaning "of burnt (αιθ-) visage (ὄψ)".[1] However, this etymology is disputed. The Book of Axum, an Ethiopian chronicle dating from the country's Christian era, states that the name is derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Axum.
Area:
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km Climate:
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation Terrain:
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley Population:
67,851,281 Languages:
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) Capital:
Addis Ababa
Countries
