Human Geography Ethiopia

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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. …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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,

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