Ethiopia

This article is about the African country. For other uses, see Ethiopia (disambiguation).

This article contains Ethiopic text. Without rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters.

የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralāwī Dīmōkrāsīyāwī Rīpeblīk Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Anthem: Wodefit Gesgeshi, Widd Innat Ityopp\'ya "March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia"
Capital (and largest city)		Addis Ababa 9°01′N, 38°44′E
Official languages		Amharic
Demonym		Ethiopian
Government		Federal Parliamentary republic1
-	President	Girma Wolde-Giorgis
-	Prime Minister	Meles Zenawi
Establishment		10th century BC
-	Traditional date	c.980 BC
-	Kingdom of Dʿmt	8th century BC
-	Kingdom of Aksum	1st century BC
Area
-	Total	1,104,300 km² (27th) 426,371 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.7
Population
-	2006 estimate	75,067,000 (16th²)
-	1994 census	53,477,265
-	Density	70/km² (123rd) 181/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$69.099 billion (69th)
-	Per capita	$823 (175fth)
Gini (1999–00)		30 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.406 (low) (169th)
Currency		Birr (ETB)
Time zone		EAT (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.et
Calling code		+251
1	According to The Economist in its Democracy Index, Ethiopia is a "hybrid regime", with a dominant-party system led by the Ethiopian People\'s Revolutionary Democratic Front.
2	Rank based on 2005 population estimate by the United Nations.

Ethiopia (IPA: /ˌiːθiːˈoʊpiə/) (Ge\'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country situated in the Horn of Africa that has been landlocked since the independence of its northern neighbor Eritrea in 1993. Apart from Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia is bordered by Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Djibouti to the northeast, and Somalia to the east.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the worldEthiopia. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2008-02-02. and Africa\'s second-most populous nation.About Ethiopia. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.Rapdily Growing Ethiopia Plans Third Ever Census. The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) (May 8, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-02. It has yielded some of the oldest traces of humanity,Ethiopia is top choice for cradle of Homo sapiens. Nature (16 February, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-02-02. making it an important area in the history of human evolution. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the world.Humans Moved From Africa Across Globe, DNA Study SaysDNA Links Humanity To One Common Origin: AfricaAround the world from Addis AbabaNew study proves theory of Human Recent African OriginGenetic Mutations Offer Insights on Human DiversityDNA studies trace migration from Ethiopia

Ethiopian dynastic history is traditionally held to have begun with the reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC.Speaking after his signing the disputed treaty between Ethiopia and Italy in 1889, Emperor Menelik II made clear his position: "We cannot permit our integrity as a Christian and civilised nation to be questioned, nor the right to govern our empire in absolute independence. The Emperor of Ethiopia is a descendant of a dynasty that is 3,000 years old — a dynasty that during all that time has never submitted to an outsider. Ethiopia has never been conquered and she never shall be..." Ethiopia Unbound: Studies In Race Emancipation - p. xxv by Joseph Ephraim Casely HayfordEthiopia at Bay: A Personal Account of the Haile Selassie Years - p. 319 by John Spencer The roots of the Ethiopian state are similarly deep, dating with unbroken continuity to at least the Aksumite Empire (which adopted the name "Ethiopia" in the 4th century) and its predecessor state, D`mt (with early 1st millennium BC roots).Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, pp.57.Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, 2005. After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries known as the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Judges/Princes"), the country was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II, beginning Ethiopia\'s modern history.Christopher S. Clapham, Haile-Selassie\'s Government, 1969, p.12.Teshale Tibebu The Making of Modern Ethiopia: 1896-1974, p. xii.S. Rubenson, "Modern Ethiopia" in Joseph C. Anene, Godfrey N. Brown, eds. Africa in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Handbook for Teachers, p. 216.Mordechai Abir, Ethiopia: The ERA of the Princes: The Challenge of Islam and Re-unification, p. 183, "The coronation of Teodros is considered by most historians of Ethiopia to be the end of the era of the princes and the beginning of modern Ethiopia." Ethiopia\'s borders underwent significant territorial expansion to its modern borders for the rest of the century,Marcus, A History of Ethiopia ISBN: 0520224795 (page no?)B. Holcomb & S. Ibssa, The Invention of Ethopia (Trenton, 1990) (page no?)Jalata, Oromia and Ethiopia: State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict ISBN: 1569022461 (page no?) especially by Emperor Menelik II, culminating in its victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, and ensuring its sovereignty and freedom from colonization.B. Holcomb & S. Ibssa, The Invention of Ethopia (Trenton, 1990) (page no?)Jalata, Oromia and Ethiopia: State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict ISBN: 1569022461 (page no?) It was brutally occupied by Mussolini\'s Italy from 1936 to 1941,It was decided at the official Paris Conference, that, for Ethiopia, WWII began on 3 October 1935. Other dates aside from 1 September 1939 are used for other countries such as China and Japan, as well. Richard Pankhurst, "Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia: A History of Their Discussion, from the League of Nations to the United Nations (1936-1949)" in Northeast African Studies 6.1-2 (1999). p. 116. ending with its liberation by British Empire and Ethiopian Patriot forces.

Having converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the second-oldest country to become officially Christian, after Armenia.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec03/ethiopia_7-3.html Since 1974, it has been secular and has also had a considerable Muslim community since the earliest days of Islam.Goldmann, Kjell (2000). Nationalism and Internationalism in the Post-Cold War Era. Routledge. ISBN 0415238900. 

Historically a relatively isolated mountain empire, Ethiopia by the mid 20th century became a crossroads of global international cooperation. It became a member of the League of Nations in 1923, signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, and was one of the fifty-one original members of the United Nations (UN). The headquarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is in Addis Ababa, as is the headquarters of the African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity), of which Ethiopia was the principal founder. There are about forty-five Ethiopian embassies and consulates around the world.

Contents 1 Name 2 History 2.1 Early history 2.2 Dʿmt and Axum 2.3 Ethiopian Empire 2.3.1 Restored contact with Europe 2.3.2 European Scramble for Africa 2.3.3 Selassie years 2.4 Communism 2.5 Recent 3 Politics 4 Geography 4.1 Climate and landforms 5 Deforestation 6 Regions, zones, and districts 7 Economy 7.1 Exports 8 Demographics 9 Peoples and Languages 9.1 Nations, Nationalities and Peoples 9.2 Languages 9.3 Religion 10 Health 11 Education 12 Culture 12.1 Cuisine 12.2 Music 13 Sports 14 Archaeology 15 See also 16 References 17 Bibliography 18 External links

Name

It is not certain how old the name Ethiopia is. The earliest attested use in the region was as a Christianized name for the Kingdom of Aksum in the 4th century, in stone inscriptions of King Ezana.Munro Hay 1991 The Ge\'ez name ʾĪtyōṗṗyā, and its English cognate, are thought by some recent scholars to be derived from the Greek word Αἰθιοπία Aithiopia, from Αἰθίοψ Aithiops ‘an Ethiopian’, derived in turn from Greek words meaning "of burned face".Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (s. v.); Αιθιοπηες Il. 1.423, properly, Burnt-face, i.e. Ethiopian, negro However, the Book of Aksum, a Ge\'ez chronicle compiled in the 15th century, 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. Pliny the ElderNat. Hist. 6.184-187 similarly states the tradition that the nation took its name from someone named Aethiops. A third etymology, suggested by the late Ethiopian scholar and poet laureate Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, traces the name to the "old black Egyptian" words Et (Truth or Peace) Op (high or upper) and Bia (land, country), or "land of higher peace".

In English, Ethiopia was also historically known as Abyssinia, derived from the Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "ḤBŚT," modern Habesha. In some countries, Ethiopia is still called by names cognate with "Abyssinia," e.g., Turkish Habeşistan and Arabic Al Habesh, meaning land of the Habesha people. The term Habesha, strictly speaking, refers only to the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya people who have historically dominated the country politically, and which combined comprise about 36% of Ethiopia\'s population. However, in contemporary Ethiopian politics, the word Habesha is often used to describe all Ethiopians. Abyssinia can strictly refer to just the North-Western Ethiopian provinces of Amhara and Tigray as well as central Eritrea, while it was historically used as another name for Ethiopia.http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Abyssinia

History

Main article: History of Ethiopia

Early history

Human settlement in Ethiopia dates back to ancient times. Fossilized remains of the earliest ancestors to the human species, discovered in Ethiopia, have been assigned dates as long ago as 5.9 million years."Earliest Human Ancestors Discovered In Ethiopia; Discovery Of Bones And Teeth Date Fossils Back More Than 5.2 Million Years" ScienceDaily.com article references a report in the July 12, 2001 issue of Nature Together with Eritrea and the southeastern part of the Red Sea coast of Sudan (Beja lands), it is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru," meaning land of the Gods), whose first mention dates to the twenty-fifth century BC.Edward J. Keall, Possible connections in antiquity between the Red Sea coast of Yemen and the Horn of Africa in Trade and Travel in the Red Sea Region. Proceedings of Red Sea Project I Held in the British Museum by the Society for Arabian Studies Monogrpahs No. 2. Oxford: England, Archaeopress, October 2002, p.53.Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Land of Punt", in Shaw, Thurstan; Sinclair, Paul & Andah, Bassey et al., The Archaeology of Africa: Foods, Metals, Towns, vol. 20, London and New York: Routledge, 1993, pp. 587-608.

Dʿmt and Axum

The ruin of the temple at Yeha dates to the 7th or 8th century BC.

Around the eighth century BC, a kingdom known as Dʿmt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be a native African one, although Sabaean-influenced due to the latter\'s hegemony of the Red Sea,Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, pp.57. while others view Dʿmt as the result of a mixture of "culturally superior" Sabaeans and indigenous peoples.Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia: 1270–1527 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), pp. 5–13. However, Ge\'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, is now thought not to have derived from Sabaean (also South Semitic). There is evidence of a Semitic-speaking presence in Ethiopia and Eritrea at least as early as 2000 BC.ibid.Herausgegeben von Uhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, "Ge\'ez". Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005, pp. 732. Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century, perhaps representing a trading or military colony in some sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the Ethiopian civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.Munro-Hay, Aksum, pp. 57.

After the fall of Dʿmt in the fifth century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms during the first century BC, the Aksumite Kingdom, ancestor of medieval and modern Ethiopia, which was able to reunite the area.Pankhurst, Richard K.P. Addis Tribune, "Let\'s Look Across the Red Sea I", January 17, 2003. They established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Aksum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time.Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity (Edinburgh: University Press, 1991), pp. 13.

In 316 AD, a Christian philosopher from Tyre, Meropius, embarked on a voyage of exploration along the coast of Africa. He was accompanied by, among others, two Syro-Greeks, Frumentius and his brother Aedesius. The vessel was stranded on the coast, and the natives killed all the travelers except the two brothers, who were taken to the court and given positions of trust by the monarch. They both practiced the Christian faith in private, and soon converted the queen and several other members of the royal court. Upon the king\'s death, Frumentius was appointed regent of the realm by the queen, and instructor of her young son, Prince Ezana. A few years later, upon Ezana\'s coming of age, Aedesius and Frumentius left the kingdom, the former returning to Tyre where he was ordained, and the latter journeying to Alexandria. Here, he consulted Athanasius, who ordained him and appointed him Bishop of Aksum. He returned to the court and baptized the King Ezana, together with many of his subjects, and in short order Christianity was proclaimed the official state religion again.Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 22–3. For this accomplishment, he received the title "Abba Selama" ("Father of peace").

Bete Giyorgis from above, one of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

At various times, including a fifty-year period in the sixth century, Aksum controlled most of modern-day Yemen and some of southern Saudi Arabia just across the Red Sea, as well as controlling southern Egypt, northern Sudan, northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Somalia.Munro-Hay, Aksum, pp. 36

The line of rulers descended from the Aksumite kings was broken several times: first by the Jewish (unknown/or pagan) Queen Gudit around 950Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 38-41. (or possibly around 850, as in Ethiopian histories).Tekeste Negash, "The Zagwe period re-interpreted: post-Aksumite Ethiopian urban culture."PDF (51.4 KiB) It was then interrupted by the Zagwe dynasty; it was during this dynasty that the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were carved under King Lalibela, allowed by a long period of peace and stability.Tekeste, "Zagwe period-reinterpreted."

Ethiopian Empire

Main article: Ethiopian Empire

Around 1270, the Solomonic dynasty came to control Ethiopia, claiming descent from the kings of Aksum. They called themselves Neguse Negest ("King of Kings," or Emperor), basing their claims on their direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba.Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 64–8.

Restored contact with Europe

In the early fifteenth century Ethiopia sought to make diplomatic contact with European kingdoms for the first time since Aksumite times. A letter from King Henry IV of England to the Emperor of Abyssinia survives.Ian Mortimer, The Fears of Henry IV (2007), p.111 In 1428, the Emperor Yeshaq sent two emissaries to Alfons V of Aragon, who sent return emissaries that failed to complete the return trip.Girma Beshah and Merid Wolde Aregay, The Question of the Union of the Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations (1500–1632) (Lisbon: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar and Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1964), pp. 13–4. The first continuous relations with a European country began in 1508 with Portugal under Emperor Lebna Dengel, who had just inherited the throne from his father.Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pp. 25.

King Fasilides\' Castle.

This proved to be an important development, for when the Empire was subjected to the attacks of the Adal General and Imam, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (called "Grañ", or "the Left-handed"), Portugal responded to Lebna Dengel\'s plea for help with an army of four hundred men, who helped his son Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule.Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pp. 45–52. However, when Emperor Susenyos converted to Roman Catholicism in 1624, years of revolt and civil unrest followed resulting in thousands of deaths.Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pp. 91, 97–104. The Jesuit missionaries had offended the Orthodox faith of the local Ethiopians, and on June 25 1632 Susenyos\' son, Emperor Fasilides, declared the state religion to again be Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and expelled the Jesuit missionaries and other Europeans.Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, p. 105.van Donzel, Emeri, "Fasilädäs" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha (Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), p. 500.

All of this contributed to Ethiopia\'s isolation from 1755 to 1855, called the Zemene Mesafint or "Age of Princes." The Emperors became figureheads, controlled by warlords like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray, and later by the Oromo Yejju dynasty.Pankhurst, Richard, The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles, (London:Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 139–43. Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that concluded an alliance between the two nations; however, it was not until 1855 that Ethiopia was completely reunited and the power in the Emperor restored, beginning with the reign of Emperor Tewodros II. Upon his ascent, despite still large centrifugal forces, he began modernizing Ethiopia and recentralizing power in the Emperor, and Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again.

Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Zion, with his son, Ras Araya Selassie Yohannis.

By the 1880s, Sahle Selassie, as king of Shewa, and later as Emperor Menilik II began expanding his kingdom to the South and East, expanding into areas that hadn\'t been held since the invasion of Ahmed Gragn, and other areas that had never been under Ethiopian rule, resulting in the borders of Ethiopia still existing today.Great Britain and Ethiopia 1897-1910: Competition for Empire Edward C. Keefer, International Journal of African Studies Vol. 6 No. 3 (1973) page 470

European Scramble for Africa

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since December 2007.

The 1880s were marked by the Scramble for Africa and modernization in Ethiopia, when the Italians began to vie with the British for influence in bordering regions. Asseb, a port near the southern entrance of the Red Sea, was bought in March 1870 from the local Afar sultan, vassal to the Ethiopian Emperor, by an Italian company, which by 1890 led to the Italian colony of Eritrea. Conflicts between the two countries resulted in the Battle of Adwa in 1896, whereby the Ethiopians surprised the world by defeating Italy and remaining independent, under the rule of Menelik II. Italy and Ethiopia signed a provisional treaty of peace on October 26, 1896.

Selassie years

Haile Selassie\'s reign as emperor of Ethiopia is the best known and perhaps most influential in all the nation\'s history. He is seen by Rastafarians as Jah incarnate.

The early twentieth century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I,who came to power after Iyasu V was deposed. It was he who undertook the modernization of Ethiopia, from 1916, when he was made a Ras and Regent (Inderase) for Zewditu I and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu\'s death he was made Emperor on 2 November, 1930.

The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and Italian occupation (1936–1941).Clapham, Christopher, "Ḫaylä Śəllase" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha (Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), pp. 1062–3. Some of Ethiopia\'s infrastructure (roads most importantly) was built by the fascist Italian occupation troops (not by corvee) between 1937 and 1940. Following the entry of Italy into World War II, the British Empire forces together with patriot Ethiopian fighters liberated Ethiopia in the course of the East African Campaign (World War II) in 1941, which was followed by sovereignty on January 31, 1941 and British recognition of full sovereignty (i.e. without any special British privileges) with the signing of the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.Clapham, "Ḫaylä Śəllase", Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, p. 1063. During 1942 and 1943 there was an Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia. On August 26, 1942 Haile Selassie I issued a proclamation outlawing slavery.EthiopiaChronology of slavery

In 1952 Haile Selassie orchestrated the federation with Eritrea which he dissolved in 1962. This annexation sparked the Eritrean War of Independence. Although Haile Selassie was seen as a national and African hero, opinion within Ethiopia turned against him due to the worldwide oil crisis of 1973, food shortages, uncertainty regarding the succession, border wars, and discontent in the middle class created through modernization.Black Book of Communism p. 687>

Haile Selassie\'s reign came to an end in 1974, when a pro-Soviet Marxist-Leninist military junta, the "Derg" led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, deposed him, and established a one-party communist state.

Communism

The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a massive refugee problem. In 1977, there was the Ogaden War, but Ethiopia quickly defeated Somalia with a massive influx of Soviet military hardware and a Cuban military presence coupled with East Germany and South Yemen the following year.

Hundreds of thousands were killed due to the red terror, forced deportations, or from using hunger as a weapon.Black Book of Communism p. 687-695 In 2006, after a long trial, Mengistu was found guilty of genocide."Mengistu found guilty of genocide", BBC, December 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Ethiopia\'s Marxist ex-ruler, Mengistu Haile Mariam, has been found guilty of genocide after a 12-year trial." 

Recent

In 1993 a referendum was held & supervised by the UN mission UNOVER, with universal suffrage and conducted both in and outside Eritrea (among Eritrean communities in the diaspora), on whether Eritreans wanted independence or unity with Ethiopia. Over 99% of the Eritrean people voted for independence which was declared on May 24, 1993. In 1994, a constitution was adopted that led to Ethiopia\'s first multi-party elections in the following year. In May 1998, a border dispute 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, which was a highly disputed one with some opposition groups claiming fraud. Though the Carter center appreciated the preelection conditions, it has expressed its dissatisfaction with postelection matters. The 2005 EU election observers continued to accuse the ruling party of vote rigging. Many from the international community are divided about the issue with Irish officials accusing the 2005 EU election observers of corruption for the "inaccurate leaks from the 2005 EU election monitoring body which led the opposition to wrongly believe they had been cheated of victory."Corruption in EU monitoring group sited In general, the opposition parties gained more than 200 parliament seats compared to the just 12 in the 2000 elections. Despite most opposition representatives joining the parliament, some leaders of the CUD party are in jail following the post-election violence. Amnesty International considers them "prisoners of conscience".

September 12, 2007 on the Gregorian calendar marked the beginning of the year 2000 on the Ethiopian calendar.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Ethiopia

See also: Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia

See also: Foreign relations of Ethiopia

Politics of Ethiopia takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament.

On the basis of Article 78 of the 1994 Ethiopian Constitution, the Judiciary is completely independent of the executive and the legislature.Constitution of Ethiopia - 8 December 1994 The current realities of this provision are questioned in a report prepared by Freedom House (see discussion page for link).

According to The Economist in its Democracy Index, Ethiopia is a "hybrid regime" situated between a "flawed democracy" and an "authoritarian regime". It ranks 106 out of 167 countries (with the larger number being less democratic). Cambodia ranks as more democratic at 105, and Burundi as less democratic at 107, than Ethiopia.Economist Intelligence Unit democracy index 2006 (PDF file)

The election of Ethiopia\'s 547-member constituent assembly was held in June 1994. This assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections for Ethiopia\'s first popularly-chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and June 1995 . Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections. There was a landslide victory for the Ethiopian People\'s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). International and non-governmental observers concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they chosen to do so.

The current government of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995. The first President was Negasso Gidada. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically-based authorities. Ethiopia today has nine semi-autonomous administrative regions that have the power to raise and spend their own revenues. Under the present government, some fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, are circumscribed.Map of Freedom 2007. Freedom House. Retrieved on 2007-12-25. Citizens have little access to media other than the state-owned networks, and most private newspapers struggle to remain open and suffer periodic harassment from the government. At least 18 journalists who had written articles critical of the government were arrested following the 2005 elections on genocide and treason charges. The government uses press laws governing libel to intimidate journalists who are critical of its policies.Essential Background: Overview of human rights issues in Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.

Zenawi\'s government was elected in 2000 in Ethiopia\'s first ever multiparty elections; however, the results were heavily criticized by international observers and denounced by the opposition as fraudulent. The EPRDF also won the 2005 election returning Zenawi to power. Although the opposition vote increased in the election, both the opposition and observers from the European Union and elsewhere stated that the vote did not meet international standards for fair and free elections. Ethiopian police are said to have massacred 193 protesters, mostly in the capital Addis Ababa, in the violence following the May 2005 elections in the Ethiopian police massacre."Ethiopian probe team criticises judge over report.", Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.  The government initiated a crackdown in the provinces as well; in Oromia state the authorities used concerns over insurgency and terrorism to use torture, imprisonment, and other repressive methods to silence critics following the election, particularly people sympathetic to the registered opposition party Oromo National Congress (ONC).

Geography

Map of Ethiopia.

Main article: Geography of Ethiopia

At 435,071 square miles (1,127,127 km²CIA World Factbook -Rank Order - Area. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.), Ethiopia is the world\'s 27th-largest country (after Colombia). It is comparable in size to Bolivia, and is about two-thirds as large as the US state of Alaska.

The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa, which is the eastern-most part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia is Sudan to the west, Djibouti and Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a massive highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands, steppes, or semi-desert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns.

Climate and landforms

Elevation and geographic location produce three climatic zones: the cool zone above 2,400 meters (7,900 ft) where temperatures range from near freezing to 16 °C (32 °–61 °F); the temperate zone at elevations of 1,500 to 2,400 meters (4,900–7,900 ft) with temperatures from 16 to 30 °C (61–86 °F); 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 (81–122 °F). The topography of Ethiopia ranges from several very high mountain ranges (the Semien Mountains and the Bale Mountains), to one of the lowest areas of land in Africa, the Danakil depression.

Ethiopian Highlands with Ras Dashan in the background.

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 is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from the deserts along the eastern border to the tropical forests in the south to extensive Afromontane in the northern and southeastern parts. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the Gelada Baboon, the Walia Ibex and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, this has helped to encourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation.

Deforestation

Main article: Environmental issues in Ethiopia

Deforestation is a major concern for Ethiopia as studies suggest loss of forest contributes to soil erosion, loss of nutrients in the soil, loss of animal habitats and reduction in biodiversity. At the beginning of the Twentieth century around 420,000 km² or 35% of Ethiopia’s land was covered by trees but recent research indicates that forest cover is now approximately 11.9% of the area.Mongabay .com Ethiopia statistics. (n.d).Retrieved November 18, 2006, from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Ethiopia.htm. Ethiopia is one of the seven fundamental and independent centers of origin of cultivated plants of the world.

Ethiopia loses an estimated 1,410 km² of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 21,000 km².^{[citation needed]}

Current government programs to control deforestation consist of education, promoting reforestation programs and providing alternate raw material to timber. In rural areas the government also provides non-timber fuel sources and access to non-forested land to promote agriculture without destroying forest habitat.

Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the federal government and local governments to create a system of forest management.Parry, J (2003). Tree choppers become tree planters. Appropriate Technology, 30(4), 38-39. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 538367341). Working with a grant of approximately 2.3 million Euros the Ethiopian government recently began training people on reducing erosion and using proper irrigation techniques that do not contribute to deforestation. This project is assisting more than 80 communities.

Regions, zones, and districts

Main articles: Regions of Ethiopia and Zones of Ethiopia

Before 1996, Ethiopia was divided into 13 provinces, many derived from historical regions. Ethiopia now has a tiered government system consisting of a federal government overseeing ethnically-based regional states, zones, districts (woredas), and neighborhoods (kebele).

Ethiopia is divided into nine ethnically-based administrative states (kililoch, sing. kilil) and subdivided into sixty-eight zones and two chartered cities (astedader akababiwoch, sing. astedader akababi): Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa (subdivisions 1 and 5 in the map, respectively). It is further subdivided into 550 woredas and six special woredas.

The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states that can establish their own government and democracy according to the federal government\'s constitution. Each region has its apex regional council where members are directly elected to represent the districts and the council has legislative and executive power to direct internal affairs of the regions. Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution further gives every regional state the right to secede from Ethiopia. There is debate, however, as to how much of the power guaranteed in the constitution is actually given to the states.

The councils implement their mandate through an executive committee and regional sectoral bureaus. Such elaborate structure of council, executive, and sectoral public institutions is replicated to the next level (woreda).

The regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia, numbered alphabetically

The nine regions and two chartered cities are:

Addis Ababa Afar Amhara Benishangul-Gumuz Dire Dawa

Gambela Harari Oromia Somali Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People\'s Region Tigray

Economy

Coffee farmer filling cups with coffee

Main article: Economy of Ethiopia

See also: Foreign aid to Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Some regions of the country are prone to famine and weak government policies have long harmed progress. During Haile Selassie\'s imperial government of the mid 1900s, around 200,000 Ethiopians died due to famine.Dickinson, Daniel (May 12, 2005). The last of the Ethiopian emperors. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-02-02. And during Mengistu Haile Mariam\'s 1980 government over 300,000 Ethiopians died due to famine.Krauss, Clifford (June 14, 1991). Ethiopians Have New Rulers, But Famine\'s Specter Lingers. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.

After the change in government in 1991, there have been attempts to improve the economy but critics state the shortage of private sector business development. The Economist, November 3, 2007, Briefing Ethiopia, p. 32 Some claim many government-owned properties during the previous regime have been transferred to pro-government enterprises in the name of privatization. But others praise the gradual growth of the private sector, particularly in the urban. Yet Telecommunications remains a state monopoly, stifling the development of mobile phones that have become ubiquitous elsewhere in Africa. In financial services, no foreign banks are allowed and it remains almost impossible to find start-up loans for small and medium businesses. Youth unemployment is estimated to be as high as 70%. According to The Economist, because of population growth, just to stand still the country must produce hundreds of thousands of jobs every year. The Economist, November 3, 2007, Briefing Ethiopia, p. 33

The Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to "the state and the people", but citizens may only lease land (up to 99 years), and are unable to mortgage, sell, or own it.Ethiopian Constitution. University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center. Retrieved on 2008-02-01. Various groups and political parties have sought for full privatization of land, while other opposition parties are against privatization and favor communal ownership.^{[citation needed]}

Agriculture accounts for almost 41 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the labour force.^{[citation needed]} Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly of a subsistence nature, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include coffee, pulses (e.g., beans), oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables. Recently, Ethiopia has had a fast growing annual GDP and it was the fastest growing non-oil dependent African nation in 2007.Giorgis, Tamrat G. (January 27, 2007). IMF Positive on Ethiopia’s Growth Outlook. Addis Fortune. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.Ethiopia has fastest growing African economy that is not Oil dependent. Jimma Times (January 9, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-02. Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is Africa\'s second biggest maize producer.Get the gangsters out of the food chain. The Economist (June 7, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-02. Ethiopia\'s livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa, and as of 1987 accounted for about 15 percent of the GDP.^{[citation needed]} Despite recent improvements, the rapidly exploding population means that Ethiopia remains one of the poorest nations in the world. According to a recent UN report the GNP per capita of Ethiopia has reached $160.The same report indicated that the life expectancy had improved substantially in recent years. The life expectancy of men is reported to be 52 and women 54 years.

Exports

Ethiopia was the original source of the coffee bean, and coffee beans are the country\'s largest export commodity."Starbucks in Ethiopia coffee vow", BBC, June 21, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. "Starbucks has agreed a wide-ranging accord with Ethiopia to support and promote its coffee, ending a long-running dispute over the issue. ... Ethiopia is Africa\'s largest coffee producer, ahead of Uganda and the Ivory Coast, and coffee is its largest source of foreign exchange." 

Ethiopia is also the 10th largest producer of livestock in the world. Other main export commodities are khat, gold, leather products and oilseeds. Recent development of the floriculture sector means Ethiopia is poised to become one of the top flower and plant exporters in the world."Ethiopia\'s flower trade in full bloom", Mail & Guardian, February 19, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. "Floriculture has become a flourishing business in Ethiopia in the past five years, with the industry\'s exports earnings set to grow to $100-million by 2007, a five-fold increase on the $20-million earned in 2005. Ethiopian flower exports could generate an estimated $300-million within two to three years, according to the head of the government export-promotion department, Melaku Legesse." 

With the private sector growing slowly, designer leather products like bags are becoming a big export business making them the first luxury designer label in the country."Ethiopia\'s designs on leather trade", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. "The label inside the luxuriously soft black leather handbag reads Taytu: Made In Ethiopia. But the embroidered print on the outside, the chunky bronze rings attached to the fashionably short straps and the oversized "it" bag status all scream designer chic."  Additional small-scale export products include cereals, pulses, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes and hides. With the construction of various new dams and growing hydroelectric power projects around the country, it has also begun exporting electric power to its neighbors.water resource revenue potentials being tackled in ethiopialargest hydro electric power plant goes smoothlyHydroelectric Power Plant built However, coffee remains its most important export product and with new trademark deals around the world, including recent deals with Starbucks, the country plans to increase its revenue from coffee.new coffee deal with Starbucks Most regard Ethiopia\'s large water resources and potential as its "white oil" and its coffee resources as "black gold".Ethiopia water resources referred as "White oil"Ethiopia hopes to power neighbours with dams

The country also has large mineral resources and oil potential in some the less inhabited regions; however, political instability in those regions has harmed progress.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Ethiopia

Schoolboys in western Oromia, Ethiopia.

Ethiopia\'s population has grown dramatically in the last several decades, from 33.5 million in 1983 to 75.1 million in 2006.Diercke Landerlexicon, 1983 The country\'s population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigray make up more than three-quarters of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.

Ethiopians and Eritreans, especially Semitic-speaking ones, collectively refer to themselves as Habesha or Abesha, though others reject these names on the basis that they refer only to certain ethnicities.Abesha.com — About us The Arabic form of this term (Al-Habesh) is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia," the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.Time Europe — Abyssinia: Ethiopian Protest 9 August 1926

According to the Ethiopian national census of 1994, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia at 32.1%. The Amhara represent 30.2%, while the Tigray people are 6.2% of the population. Other ethnic groups are as follows: Somali 6%, Gurage 4.3%, Sidama 3.4%, Wolayta 2%, Afar 2%, Hadiya 2%, Gamo 1%.Berhanu Abegaz, Ethiopia: A Model Nation of MinoritiesPDF (51.7 KiB) (accessed 6 April 2006)Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, DC (accessed 6 April 2006)

View from the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa.

Peoples and Languages

Nations, Nationalities and Peoples

Afar Agnwak Agaw-Awi Agaw-Himra Alaba Amhara Argobba Ari Basketo Bench Benishangul Berta Bode Burji Chaha Daworo Derashe

Dasanech Dime Dizi Arbore Gamo Gambella Gedio Ghidicho Gnagnatom Gofa Gawada Gumuz Gurage Hadiya Hamer Harari Irob Kambata

Kabena Kaficho Komo Konso Konta Kore Kunama Kusme Majangir Maale Mao Mareko Mashillie Meinit Mursi Nao Nuer

Omo Opo Oromo Oyidda Shekicho Sheko Shinasha Sidama Somali Surma Tigre Tigre Wurgi Timbaro Tsamay Wolayta Yem Zayse Zulman

Languages

Main article: Languages of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has eighty-four indigenous languages. Some of these are:

Afar Amharic Anfillo Berto Bussa

Kambata Hadiya Harari Konso Ongota Oromo

Saho Soddo Silt\'e Somali