Overview of the Country
A virtual guide to Ethiopia, the land formerly known as Abyssinia.
Ethiopia is a landlocked country on the Horn of Africa, in the east of the continent. It is bordered by Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Somaliland (Somalia).
Ethiopia covers an area of 1,126,829 km², this is about twice the size of France or the U.S. state of Texas. Highest elevation is Mount Ras Dashen with 4620 m.
A population of more than 90 million inhabitants makes the country the second-most populous nation in Africa. The country comprises of more than 80 ethnic groups and as many languages.
Culture and Society
Background:
Oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years.
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Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime of Mengistu Hailemariam was finally toppled by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991.
A new constitution was adopted in 1994 which guaranteed the religious rights and the cultural and political rights of all ethnic groups. Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. With a peace treaty on 12 December 2000 a 30 year old struggle with Eritrea
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Geography:
Location: Horn of Africa bordered by the Sudan on the west, Somalia and Djibouti on the east, Eritrea on the north and Kenya on the south.
Area: 1.1 million km² (440 000 sq. mi.) about twice the size of Kenya, France or Texas.
Terrain: Rugged mountains, flat-topped high plateaus, deep river canyons, rolling plains and dry low lands.
Religions: Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 45%-50%, Muslim 40%, Protestant 5%, Animic Ethnic groups (est.): comprised of seventy-eight nations of which the Amhara and the Oromo constitute the majority, Oromo 35%, Amhara 30%, Tigre 6%-8%, Somali 6%
Languages: Amharic (official), Afan Oromo, Tigrinya, Gurage, Somali, Arabic and about 80 other local languages. English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Ethiopian alphabet: Geèz
Climate: Temperate in the highlands; tropical in the lowlands; dry season from October through May; wet season from June to September.
Natural resources: Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas,
Also, Ethiopian Culture and North American do not meet in any way and when it comes to language and alphabet, they are like heaven and earth. Ethiopia is located in the Eastern part of Africa. To be exact, it is located in the horn of Africa. It is one of the most known countries for its unique heritage, buildings, and religion. It has mainly two seasons, which is the winter and summer.
The landlocked country of Ethiopia is located in east Africa, just west of Somalia, and is roughly twice the size of Texas . Ethiopia’s natural resources include platinum, copper, and small reserves of gold. Only .65% of the land is suitable and allotted for permanent crops. Ethiopia is currently facing several environmental concerns including deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and water shortages due to poor management of water-intensive farming. Ethiopia’s population is in excess of 66 million. Ethiopia is home to numerous ethnic groups, the largest being Oromo, which accounts for 40% of the population. About half of the Ethiopian population is Muslim, with the majority of the other half practicing Ethiopian Orthodox. Ethiopia’s government is a federal republic which grants its citizens voting rights at 18 years of age. Currently, Ethiopia faces the problem of attempting to control the illicit drugs that come through the country, as it acts as a hub for the transportation of heroin and cocaine.
There have been many famines that have greatly impacted Ethiopia. One of the famine that is very famous in Ethiopian history and World history is known as the Great Famine. Due to the lack of the support of the government and other organizations, about one million people died of starvation. The conditions of Ethiopia in the beginning of 1984 were not well. “The Ethiopian government predicted that the agricultural yield of the nation was going to be considerably lower in at the beginning of 1984 because there had been less rainfall than expected. However, preventive measures were not taken by either the government or the rest of the world to prevent the mass starva...
98.8% of the population is made up of ethnic Somalis (Kraus). Other minority groups include Arabs, Indians, Italians, and Pakistanis. Most Somalis are nomadic or semi nomadic herders of livestock. The rest are either crop farmers or inhabitants of the few urban centers. The official languages of the country are Somali and Arabic and the state religion is Islam (“Somalian People”).
The emperor of Ethiopia is arranging for expatriated persons of African origin to return to Ethiopia
Location-Ethiopia is a country located in the horn of Africa and its capital is Addis Ababa
Africa is the second largest of the earth's seven continents, covering about twenty-two percent of the world's total land area. From its northern most point, to its southern most tip is the distance of nearly five thousand miles. Africa is both north and south of the equator. The Atlantic Ocean is located west of the continent, and the Indian Ocean is on the east. Width of the continent is also nearly five thousand miles. Although Africa is so large, much of it is inhabitable. Desert soils, which have little organic content, cover large areas. The Sahara Desert, in the northern part, covers more than one fourth of Africa, and the Kalahari Desert is in the southern part of the continent. These two deserts are a natural detriment to the African continent because they make it difficult to reach the inland where most of the people live. Although Africa is relatively close to Europe, travel by land over the Sahara desert is very prohibitive. Another topographical feature that also isolates the central region of Africa is the coastline.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html> "Ethiopia." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web.
Sub-Saharan Africa refers to the diverse landscape of more than 50 countries of Africa, which are south of the Sahara Desert. There are over nine million square miles of valleys, plateaus, and mountains in this region of Africa. Because of the prevalence of plateaus, Africa has been nicknamed the “continent of plateaus”. Between the plateaus, there are steep slopes, or escarpments. This continent has the highest overall elevation because of the plateaus it has. This area is mountainous with such mountains as the Atlas Mountains in the Northwest, Drakensburg Mountains and Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak. The Great Rift Valley is also in this region. There are many rivers in this region, including the “Nile, Congo, Niger, and the Zambezi Rivers” (Physical Geography).
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, something is always contrasted against something else. Within the title itself, the contrast of light and dark is made. Throughout the book, the contrast is made between good and evil, between the pilgrims and the cannibals that Marlow encounters. Using the ironic opposition of the pilgrims and the cannibals will present a way into a post-colonial analysis of the book.
Ethiopian literature is traditionally Christian, with the earliest writings in Ge'ez being translations of Greek Christian works. Ge'ez literary production really took off in the 13th century, when a stack of Coptic, Syriac and Greek religious works were translated from Arabic. About 200 years later, Ge'ez writers branched out into original works, beginning with the lives of saints and moving onto apocalyptic books such as the Elucidation of Jesus and the Mystery of Heaven and Earth. Amharic took over from Ge'ez around the 16th century, and again, writers concentrated mainly on translations of religious works. It wasn't until the end of WWII that Amharic writers really began writing about other issues - Makonnen Endalkaches, Kebede Mikael and Tekle Tsodeq Makuria are notable postwar writers who addressed moral and patriotic themes.
Thus, Ethiopia remains the largest producer of coffee in Africa and is the fifth largest coffee producer in the World next to Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia, that contributes about 4.2 percent of the total coffee production. KASAHUN BANTE P8-9)
Kenya is a republic of East Africa. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the southeast. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. It is located in the south central part of the country. It has a population of 1.5 million. The National Musum of Kenya, the National Theater and the University of Nairobi are in the city.
Ethiopia an African country officially known as the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and famously know as one of the oldest location of human life to scientists. Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa (east of Africa). It is argued that Ethiopia was the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty as an independent country. It is argued that Ethiopia was conquered by Italy in 1935 and regained its independence in 1941 on the 5th of May and the ruler of that era was Halie Selassi. Ethiopia’s major economic contributor is the agriculture sector with a 46% of gross domestic product and a labour force of 85% by agriculture (Ethiopia’s gross domestic product by sector). Ethiopia is a federal republic state this means that there is no monarch and that the state exercise democra...
Kenya is located on the eastern coast of Africa. It is approximately 224,960 miles squared and is about the same size as Texas. Kenya had five main geographical regions: Lake Victoria Basin, northern semiarid desert, eastern plateau forelands, Rift Valley and other highlands, and coastal areas. Kenya has two rainy seasons and has an average of 80oF along the coast. There is a tropical climate on the coast and an arid climate in the interior. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and other major cities include Mombasa, Lamu, and Kisumu. Major landforms in Kenya are the Great Rift Valley (fissure 4,000 miles long), Kenyan Highlands, and two major mountain ranges. The major ranges are Mau Escarpment in the West and Aberdare Range in the East. The highest mountain in Kenya and also the second highest mountain in the world is Mount Kenya at 17,058 ft high. There are seven provinces of Kenya and they are Central, Coast, Eastern, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western and they have one area called Nairobi Area. The bodies of water in Kenya are Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria.