Country Profiles: Ethiopia

Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Official language: Amharic

Land area: 426,373 sq mi/1,104,300 sq km

Population: 88,013,000

Dominant religion: Christianity

Capital: Addis Ababa

Current leader: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

Ethiopia is a country in northeastern Africa. Much of it consists of rugged mountains and a high plateau. It is the second largest country in population in Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, Sudan to the west and Eritrea to the north. With a population of more than 88 million, Ethiopia is the world’s most populous landlocked country. It is also one of the oldest countries. It was formerly called Abyssinia.

 Most Ethiopians are rural dwellers, living either as farmers or livestock herders. Farmers grow a variety of cereal crops such as barley, corn and wheat. Livestock herders raise a variety of cattle, camels, goats and sheep. Many Ethiopians move to the cities in search of better jobs but with little success as Ethiopia is one of the world’s most impoverished countries. Ethiopians in cities usually work for the government or various business and industries.

 Much of Ethiopia’s economy is based on agriculture and manufacturing. Coffee, hides and skins, livestock and oilseeds are its main exports. Ethiopia’s main trading partners are Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

 The Aksum Kingdom was one of the first states to exist in present day Ethiopia and it traded with Arabia, Egypt, Greece, India, Persia and Rome. By the 1400’s Ethiopia was large empire but then broke up into many small kingdoms. Emperor Menelik II reunified the empire.

 In 1935 Italy invaded and occupied Ethiopia in an attempt to expand its colonies in Africa, forcing Emperor Haile Selassie to flee to the United Kingdom. In 1941, during World War II, British troops helped liberate Ethiopia from Italian rule. In 1961, Eritrea, which had been part of Ethiopia, began making moves toward independence, leading to a civil conflict that would drag on until 1991. Eritrea formally declared independence in 1993 but border disputes between the two countries would continue to drag on.

 Ethiopian military leaders seized the government in 1974 and ousted Emperor Haile Selassie. The new government adopted socialism and established close relations with the Soviet Union. In 1994 Ethiopia adopted a new constitution and held its first multi-party parliamentary elections the following year.