Ethiopia
Name
| Official name | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia — የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ |
|---|---|
| Former names | Abyssinia, in European use to the 20th century; the Ethiopian Empire (to 1974); the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under the Derg (1987–1991); the Transitional Government (1991–1995) |
| Demonym | Ethiopian |
| Meaning of the name | From the Greek Aithiopia, "the land of burnt faces," taken by the Aksumite kings; Habesha, the highland peoples, the root of Abyssinia |
| Motto | None official since 1991 — "Ethiopia stretches her hands unto God" under the empire |
Quick facts
| Capital | Addis Ababa — founded 1886; at 2,355 m; about 5.5 million; the seat of the African Union |
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| Largest cities | Addis Ababa; Dire Dawa; Mekelle; Gondar; Bahir Dar; Hawassa; Adama; Jimma; Dessie; Harar |
| Official languages | Amharic the working language of the federal government since 1995, with Afaan Oromo, Somali, Afar and Tigrinya added in 2020; each region its own; some 80 languages; English in higher education |
| Currency | Ethiopian birr — ISO code ETB, Br; floated 29 July 2024; about 150 to the U.S. dollar |
| Time zone | East Africa Time, UTC+3, all year — with the twelve-hour count from dawn in daily life |
| Calendar | The Ethiopian calendar of thirteen months — twelve of thirty days and Pagume of five or six — seven to eight years behind the Gregorian; the year 2019 from 11 September 2026; Christmas on 7 January, Timkat on 19 January |
| Calling code | +251 |
| Internet domain | .et |
| ISO 3166 codes | ET · ETH · 231 |
| Vehicle registration code | ETH |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 220 V, 50 Hz; plug types C, E, F and L |
| Independence | Never colonized — the oldest independent state in Africa; the Italian occupation of 1936–1941 ended 5 May 1941 |
| National days | 28 May, National Day, for the fall of the Derg in 1991; 2 March, the Victory of Adwa, 1896; 5 May, Patriots' Victory Day; 11 September, Enkutatash, the New Year; 27 September, Meskel; 19 January, Timkat |
| Constitution | 21 August 1995 — in force since the elections of that year; the federation of ethnic regions with the right of secession, Article 39 |
| Population | 73,918,505 at the census of 2007 — the last; about 135 million (UN, 2025 est.); the census of 2019 postponed and never held |
| Area | 1,104,300 km² (426,373 sq mi) — land 1,096,570 km², water 7,730 km²; landlocked since 1993 |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A horizontal tricolor of green, yellow and red — the colors flown by Menelik's empire since the 1890s and copied across Africa as the pan-African colors — with the national emblem at the center since 6 February 1996: a yellow star on a blue disc, for the equality of the nations and the light of the future.Flag of Ethiopia |
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| National emblem | A yellow pentagram with rays on a blue disc — adopted 1996; the Lion of Judah with the cross-staff the emblem of the empire to 1974 |
| National anthem | "Wodefit Gesgeshi, Widd Innat Ityopp'ya" ("March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia") — words by Dereje Melaku Mengesha, music by Solomon Lulu Mitiku; adopted 1992 |
| National colors | Green, yellow and red — the pan-African colors |
| National animal | The Abyssinian lion — the Lion of Judah, the black-maned lion of the highlands; widely cited |
| National flower | None designated — the adey abeba, the Meskel daisy that yellows the hills at New Year, widely cited; the calla lily on the old arms |
| National dish | Injera, the teff flatbread, with wat — doro wat, the chicken stew, above all; kitfo; the coffee ceremony |
| Symbol status | The flag, emblem and anthem are fixed by the Constitution and the proclamation of 2009; the animal, flower and dish are traditional, none designated |
Geography
| Location | The Horn of Africa — the highlands at the heart of the region, landlocked; Eritrea and Djibouti between it and the Red Sea, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan the other neighbors |
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| Land borders | 5,925 km (3,682 mi) with six countries |
| Border with Somalia | 1,640 km (1,019 mi) — the Ogaden |
| Border with South Sudan | 1,299 km (807 mi) |
| Border with Eritrea | 1,033 km (642 mi) — fought over 1998–2000, never demarcated |
| Border with Kenya | 867 km (539 mi) |
| Border with Sudan | 744 km (462 mi) — the al-Fashaga farmland disputed |
| Border with Djibouti | 342 km (213 mi) — the route to the sea |
| Coastline | None — landlocked since Eritrea's independence in 1993; Djibouti's port for about 95% of trade |
| Highest point | Ras Dashen, 4,550 m (14,928 ft), in the Simien — the fourth-highest peak in Africa |
| Lowest point | The Danakil Depression, 125 m (410 ft) below sea level |
| Mean elevation | 1,330 m (4,364 ft) — the highland plateau the "roof of Africa" |
| The Blue Nile | The Abay, rising at Lake Tana and falling over the Tis Abay to cut the great gorge to Sudan — the source of about 85% of the Nile's water; the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam across it since 2011 |
| Other rivers | The Awash, the river of the Rift, ending in the Afar lakes; the Omo to Lake Turkana; the Wabe Shebelle and the Genale to Somalia; the Tekezé and the Baro to the Nile |
| Lakes | Tana, about 3,600 km², the largest, with its island monasteries; the Rift lakes — Abaya, Chamo, Ziway, Langano, Hawassa; the Afar's Abbe and Afrera; Karum |
| Terrain | The highland plateau cut by the Great Rift Valley into the northern and southeastern blocks; the Simien and Bale mountains; the Danakil desert; the Ogaden plain; the western lowlands of Gambela |
| Climate | Temperate on the plateau by altitude — Addis Ababa never hot; tropical in the lowlands; the long rains of June to September and the short of February; the deserts of the Afar and Ogaden |
| Natural hazards | Drought and famine — 1973, 1984–85, 2015–16, and the Tigray war's hunger; floods; the volcanoes of the Afar — Hayli Gubbi erupted in November 2025 for the first time in recorded history; earthquakes in the Rift |
| Natural resources | Gold, the largest export after coffee; potash in the Danakil; tantalum; natural gas in the Ogaden; hydropower — the largest potential in Africa; the farmland of the highlands |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 36%; forest about 15% |
| National parks | Simien Mountains, 1969, with the gelada and the walia ibex; Bale Mountains, with the Ethiopian wolf, the rarest canid; Awash; Omo and Mago; Gambela; Nechisar; the Danakil |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 12 — the Simien Mountains and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela (1978); Fasil Ghebbi at Gondar (1979); Aksum, the Lower Awash Valley with Lucy's site, the Lower Omo Valley and Tiya (1980); the fortified town of Harar (2006); the Konso cultural landscape (2011); the Gedeo landscape (2024); the Bale Mountains (2023); the Melka Kunture and Balchit sites (2024) |
| Administrative divisions | 12 regional states — Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela, Harari, Sidama (2020), South West (2021), Central Ethiopia and South Ethiopia (2023) — and the chartered cities of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa |
People
| Population | 73,918,505 (census of 2007); about 135 million (UN, 2025 est.) |
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| Population density | About 120 per km² (310 per sq mi) — the highlands dense, the lowlands empty |
| Population growth | About 2.5% a year — some 3 million more each year |
| Median age | About 19 years — about half the population under eighteen |
| Life expectancy | About 67 years |
| Fertility rate | About 4 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 23% — among the lowest in the world |
| Adult literacy | About 52% |
| Ethnic groups | Oromo about 35%; Amhara about 27%; Somali and Tigrayan about 6% each; Sidama about 4%; Gurage, Welayta, Afar, Hadiya, Gamo and some 80 peoples in all (census of 2007) |
| Languages | Afaan Oromo the most spoken; Amharic the lingua franca and the language of Addis Ababa, written in the Ge'ez script of the ancient church; Somali, Tigrinya, Sidama, Welayta, Afar, Gurage; English in the universities |
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo about 44% — Christian since the 4th century; Muslim about 34%; Protestant about 19%, growing; traditional beliefs; the Beta Israel mostly gone to Israel |
| Displacement | Some 4 million displaced within the country by the wars of Tigray, Amhara and Oromia — among the most in the world; about a million refugees hosted, from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan |
| Human Development Index | 0.497 (2023 data, 2025 report) — low; about 176th of 193 |
| Sport | Distance running — Abebe Bikila's barefoot marathon gold of 1960, the first for Africa; Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba, Derartu Tulu, Tamirat Tola; the Great Ethiopian Run; football — the Walia |
| Diaspora | About 3 million abroad — in the United States, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Sudan, Kenya, Israel, Italy and Europe; remittances about US$5 billion a year |
Government
| Form of government | Federal parliamentary republic under the Constitution of 1995 — the president a ceremonial head of state elected by parliament for six years; the prime minister head of government, chosen by the House |
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| Prime Minister | Abiy Ahmed Ali (Prosperity Party), since 2 April 2018 — the fourth under the constitution; born 15 August 1976 at Beshasha in Oromia, the son of a Muslim Oromo father and an Orthodox Amhara mother, a lieutenant colonel in intelligence; the Nobel Peace Prize of 11 October 2019 for the peace with Eritrea; in his third term after the election of 2026 |
| President | Taye Atske Selassie (Prosperity Party), since 7 October 2024 — the sixth; a career diplomat and foreign minister, born 1956; succeeded Sahle-Work Zewde, the first woman, 2018–2024 |
| The 2026 election | Held 1 June 2026 for the House of Peoples' Representatives: the Prosperity Party 438 of the 486 seats declared; EZEMA 13; the National Movement of Amhara 6; Medrek, the Freedom and Equality Party and others a handful; independents 8 — a turnout of 95.7% by the board's count among 50.5 million registered; no vote in Tigray, and at least 143 polling stations closed in Oromia and Amhara for the fighting; the opposition and rights groups citing the arrests of journalists and candidates; the party's third landslide after 2021 and the EPRDF's before it |
| Parliament | The House of Peoples' Representatives — 547 seats for five years; the House of Federation — 153 members from the nations and nationalities, with the power to interpret the constitution |
| The next election | Due in 2031 |
| Amhara | The Fano militias in revolt since August 2023, after the order to disarm the regional forces — holding much of the countryside, with the federal army in the towns; a state of emergency of 2023–24; drone strikes; eight of the region's 138 constituencies without a vote in 2026 |
| Oromia | The Oromo Liberation Army's insurgency since 2018 in the west and south, with massacres of Amhara villagers and talks in Tanzania that failed in 2023; hundreds killed in the years since |
| Tigray | The war of 3 November 2020 to the Pretoria agreement of 2 November 2022 — the federal and Eritrean forces against the Tigray People's Liberation Front; some 600,000 dead by the estimate of the African Union's envoy, with famine, massacres and mass rape found by the UN commission; an interim administration since; the TPLF split in 2025, its leadership changed by force in Mekelle; no election in the region in 2026; western Tigray still held by Amhara forces |
| Eritrea | The peace of 9 July 2018; the alliance of the Tigray war; since 2025 the claim to the port of Assab — "a mistake" to be corrected, sea access "a matter of survival" in the prime minister's words — with a call for international mediation on 28 October 2025, the accusation of an Eritrea–TPLF pact, a letter of February 2026 charging Eritrea with occupying Ethiopian territory, and both armies on the border |
| The dam | The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, begun 2 April 2011 and inaugurated 9 September 2025 — 5,150 MW, the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa, its reservoir 74 billion cubic meters; built with Ethiopian money and bonds; Egypt and Sudan without an agreement on its operation |
| Somaliland and Somalia | The memorandum of 1 January 2024 with Somaliland for access to the sea at Berbera in return for recognition, which Somalia called an act of aggression; the Ankara declaration of December 2024 under Turkey |
| Legal system | Civil law; the Federal Supreme Court; the House of Federation as the constitutional court; sharia courts for Muslim family law |
| Regions | 12 states with their own governments, languages and police, and the right of secession under Article 39 |
| United Nations | A founding member, 13 November 1945; Haile Selassie's appeal to the League of Nations of 1936 |
| Memberships | The African Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa since its founding as the OAU in 1963; IGAD; COMESA; BRICS since 1 January 2024; the Non-Aligned Movement; a WTO applicant since 2003 |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$130 billion (2025/26, IMF) — the dollar figure cut by the float of the birr in 2024 from about US$160 billion before |
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| GDP per capita | About US$1,000 (2025/26) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$3,500 (2025/26) |
| GDP growth | About 8% a year through the 2010s — among the fastest in the world — and above 9% forecast by the IMF for 2026; inflation about 15% after the float |
| Economy by sector | Agriculture about 35% of GDP and about 65% of employment; services about 40%; industry about 22% |
| Currency | Ethiopian birr (ETB), floated 2024 |
| Coffee | The birthplace of arabica, in the forests of Kaffa — the largest producer in Africa and fifth in the world, about 500,000 metric tons a year; Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harar; the largest export until gold passed it in 2024–25 |
| Gold and other exports | Gold, sold to the central bank and abroad, the largest export in 2025; cut flowers — the second exporter in Africa; oilseeds, khat, pulses, leather; live animals — the largest cattle herd in Africa |
| The reform of 2024 | The IMF program of US$3.4 billion agreed 29 July 2024 with the float of the birr; the World Bank's US$16.6 billion; the restructuring of the debt after the default on a Eurobond payment in December 2023 — the G20 common framework agreement of 2025 |
| Industry | The industrial parks of Hawassa and Bole Lemi for garments; cement; sugar; the Corridor Development project remaking Addis Ababa since 2024 |
| Energy | Hydropower above 90% of electricity — the Renaissance Dam, Gilgel Gibe III, Koysha; electricity exported to Kenya, Sudan and Djibouti; about half the population connected |
| Income classification | Low income (World Bank); a least developed country |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airport | Addis Ababa Bole International — the hub of Africa, above 20 million passengers; the new airport at Bishoftu for 100 million under construction; Dire Dawa, Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Hawassa |
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| Airline | Ethiopian Airlines, founded 1945 — the largest airline in Africa by fleet, passengers and profit, some 150 aircraft to more than 130 destinations; state-owned |
| Ports | None — Djibouti for about 95% of trade, with Berbera, Port Sudan and Mombasa; the quest for Assab and the sea |
| Railways | The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, 753 km, electric and standard gauge, in service 2018 — the first electric transnational railway in Africa, replacing the French line of 1917; the Addis Ababa Light Rail, opened 2015, the first in sub-Saharan Africa; the Awash–Weldiya line |
| Roads | About 150,000 km (93,000 mi), a fifth paved; the Addis–Adama expressway, the first, 2014; the roads to Djibouti and Kenya |
| Addis Ababa | The Corridor project of 2024–26 — new boulevards, cycle lanes and parks over the old quarters; the Adwa Victory Memorial; the Grand Palace opened as Unity Park |
History in dates
| 3.2 million years ago | Lucy — Australopithecus afarensis — at Hadar in the Afar, found 24 November 1974 |
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| c. 100 | The Kingdom of Aksum rises; its obelisks |
| c. 330 | King Ezana adopts Christianity — among the first states to do so |
| 615 | The first Muslims take refuge at Aksum — the first hijra |
| 1270 | The Solomonic dynasty restored under Yekuno Amlak |
| 12th–13th century | The rock churches of Lalibela |
| 1529–1543 | The war with Ahmad Gragn of Adal |
| 1636 | Gondar the capital under Fasilides |
| 1855 | Tewodros II reunites the empire |
| 1889 | Menelik II emperor; Addis Ababa founded, 1886 |
| 1896 | The Battle of Adwa, 1 March — the Italians defeated |
| 1930 | Haile Selassie crowned, 2 November |
| 1935–1941 | The Italian invasion and occupation; the liberation, 5 May 1941 |
| 1963 | The Organisation of African Unity founded at Addis Ababa, 25 May |
| 1974 | The Derg deposes Haile Selassie, 12 September; the Red Terror |
| 1984–1985 | The famine — about a million dead; Live Aid |
| 1991 | The EPRDF takes Addis Ababa, 28 May; Mengistu flees |
| 1993 | Eritrea independent — Ethiopia landlocked |
| 1995 | The federal Constitution, 21 August |
| 1998–2000 | The war with Eritrea |
| 2011 | The Renaissance Dam begun, 2 April |
| 2018 | Abiy Ahmed prime minister, 2 April; peace with Eritrea, 9 July |
| 2019 | The Nobel Peace Prize, 11 October |
| 2020–2022 | The Tigray war, 3 November 2020 to 2 November 2022 |
| 2023 | The Fano revolt in Amhara, August; the Eurobond default, December |
| 2024 | BRICS, 1 January; the birr floated, 29 July |
| 2025 | The Renaissance Dam inaugurated, 9 September |
| 2026 | The election of 1 June; the third term |
Records & firsts
| Never colonized | The oldest independent state in Africa |
|---|---|
| The most populous landlocked country | About 135 million |
| The cradle of humankind | Lucy, 3.2 million years, and the oldest Homo sapiens at Omo Kibish |
| The birthplace of coffee | The forests of Kaffa |
| A calendar of thirteen months | Seven years and eight months behind the world |
| Adwa | The first defeat of a European colonial army by an African one, 1896 |
| The largest airline in Africa | Ethiopian Airlines |
| The largest dam in Africa | The Renaissance Dam, 5,150 MW |
| The hottest inhabited place | Dallol, by average temperature |
| The source of the Nile's water | Lake Tana and the Blue Nile, about 85% |
| The first African Olympic champion | Abebe Bikila, barefoot, Rome 1960 |
| The capital of Africa | Addis Ababa, seat of the African Union |
| The churches cut from the rock | Lalibela |
| The third-highest capital | Addis Ababa, 2,355 m |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Ethiopia?
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia — ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralāwī Dīmōkrāsīyāwī Rīpeblīk in Amharic — since the constitution of 1995. The Greeks called the lands south of Egypt Aithiopia, "the land of burnt faces," and the name was taken by the kings of Aksum in the 4th century; Europeans long said Abyssinia, from the Habesha peoples of the highlands. Ethiopia is the only African country never colonized, save the five years of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941, and the oldest independent state on the continent.
What is the capital of Ethiopia?
Addis Ababa — "New Flower" — founded by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu in 1886 on the slopes of Entoto at 2,355 m, the third-highest capital in the world, with about 5.5 million people; the seat of the African Union since 1963 and of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the diplomatic capital of the continent. Dire Dawa, Mekelle, Gondar, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Adama and Jimma are the regional cities; none has a million.
How big is Ethiopia, and how many people live there?
About 1,104,300 km² (426,373 sq mi) — the tenth-largest country in Africa, twice the size of Texas — landlocked since Eritrea's independence in 1993. No census has been taken since 2007, when 73.9 million were counted; the UN estimates about 135 million for 2025, the second-largest population in Africa after Nigeria and the largest of any landlocked country on earth, half of it under eighteen. Some 50 million registered to vote in 2026.
What are the highest and lowest points of Ethiopia?
Ras Dashen, 4,550 m (14,928 ft), in the Simien Mountains of the north — the fourth-highest peak in Africa; and the Danakil Depression in the Afar, 125 m (410 ft) below sea level, where the Dallol springs are the hottest inhabited place on earth by average temperature and the Erta Ale volcano holds a lake of lava. The highlands between hold the source of the Blue Nile at Lake Tana, which gives the Nile most of its water.
What currency does Ethiopia use?
The Ethiopian birr (ISO code ETB, Br), issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia — floated on 29 July 2024 under the IMF program, when it fell by half against the dollar, at about 150 to the U.S. dollar since. Clocks keep East Africa Time, UTC+3, but Ethiopians count the hours from dawn, so that 7 a.m. is one o'clock, and the calendar has thirteen months and runs seven to eight years behind the Gregorian: the year 2019 began on 11 September 2026.
Who governs Ethiopia?
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of the Prosperity Party, head of government since 2 April 2018 and the Nobel Peace laureate of 2019, whose party won 438 of the 486 seats declared in the general election of 1 June 2026 — its third landslide, in a vote held under heavy security with 143 polling stations closed in Oromia and Amhara and none held in Tigray. Taye Atske Selassie has been the ceremonial president since 7 October 2024. The government fights the Fano militias that hold much of rural Amhara and the Oromo Liberation Army in Oromia, holds an uneasy peace with Tigray after the war of 2020–22, and disputes the port of Assab with Eritrea, with troops on the border.
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