Please consider one more thing this morning May 29 and the year is, 2018. As most would not logic the navigation to around the world, this is the Viking approach to a best comprehension, not in force of understanding rather the logic of consideration.
Religion has been bound by the hems by many civilizations. The fact that generally people at large mass practice such things it is the aspect by design when other (People, Civilizations) i.e. societies send people to the trade roads. Upon such the natural landing would entice complete attraction to the foreigner. Now, present attraction as both good and bad, threatening and beneficial before you desire only the groin. To process in gentle appeal it is the mind, i.e. brain that electricity begins to spark more, each of you reading will have different immediate act to reactors therefore calm before the storm will not exactly calculate so I beg you to now consider the saying "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me" as a basis to ground the year, a reminder, it is 2018.
According to the census: "
National census conducted in 2007, over 32 million people or 43.5% were reported to be Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, over 25 million or 33.9% were reported to be Muslim, 13,7 million, or 12.6%, were Protestant, and just under two million or 2.6% adhered to traditional beliefs" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia). This is for the Country of Ethiopia and what I will say next will cause a reaction, one way or another the reaction will be based on your understanding or your condemnation thereof. Please be patient as Ethiopia is a very old country and their continent has nothing to do with this conversation.
Often two people get together and make a baby. A person of Islam and a person of Catholic get together on the what we would even know as a familiar word today and while 'proselytizing' nature becomes the habit of it's construction. Circumstance? What is attraction? How would you grace the appeal of yourself vs. your basic need to love? It is the grace of just the Grand Canyon that would Niagara these falls as love is in the water of life and rib is in the what?
Synopsis: An Islam and a Catholic equal a Christian.
Ethiopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 
8°N 38°E
Ethiopia (
;
Amharic:
ኢትዮጵያ,
ʾĪtyōṗṗyā,
listen (help·info)), officially the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ,
yeʾĪtiyoṗṗya Fēdēralawī Dēmokirasīyawī Rīpebilīk listen (help·info)), is a
country located in the
Horn of Africa. It shares borders with
Eritrea to the north and northeast,
Djibouti and
Somalia to the east,
Sudan and
South Sudan to the west, and
Kenya to the south. With over 102 million inhabitants,
[3] Ethiopia is the most populous
landlocked country
in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African
continent. It occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres
(420,000 sq mi), and its capital and largest city is
Addis Ababa.
[8]
Some of the oldest skeletal evidence for
anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia.
[9] It is widely considered as the region from which modern humans
first set out for the
Middle East and places beyond.
[10][11][12] According to linguists, the first
Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing
Neolithic era.
[13] Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia's governmental system was a
monarchy for most of its
history. In the first centuries AD, the
Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region,
[14][15][16][17] followed by the
Ethiopian Empire circa 1137. During the late 19th-century
Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was one of the nations to retain its
sovereignty from long-term colonialism by a European
colonial power.
Many newly-independent nations on the continent subsequently adopted
its flag colours. Ethiopia was also the first independent member from
Africa of the 20th-century
League of Nations and the
United Nations.
[18] In 1974, the
Ethiopian monarchy under
Haile Selassie was overthrown by the
Derg, a communist military government backed by the
Soviet Union. In 1987, the Derg established the
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, but it was overthrown in 1991 by the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has been the ruling political coalition since.
Ethiopia and
Eritrea use the ancient
Ge'ez script, which is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world.
[19] The
Ethiopian calendar, which is approximately seven years and three months behind the
Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the
Borana calendar. A majority of the population adheres to
Christianity (mainly the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and
P'ent'ay), whereas around a third follows
Islam (primarily
Sunni). The country is the site of the
Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at
Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian
Jews, known as
Bete Israel, also resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s.
[20][21] Ethiopia is a
multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the
Oromo,
Amhara,
Somali and
Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak
Afroasiatic languages of the
Cushitic or
Semitic branches. Additionally,
Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions.
Nilo-Saharan languages are also spoken by the nation's
Nilotic ethnic minorities.
The nation is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile
west, its forests, and numerous rivers, and the world's hottest
settlement of
Dallol in its north. The
Ethiopian Highlands are the largest continuous mountain ranges in Africa, and the
Sof Omar Caves contains the largest cave on the continent. Ethiopia also has the most
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.
[22] Additionally, the country is one of the founding members of the UN, the
Group of 24 (G-24), the
Non-Aligned Movement,
G-77 and the
Organisation of African Unity. Its capital city Addis Ababa serves as the headquarters of the
African Union, the
Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the
African Standby Force, and many of the global NGOs focused on Africa. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia experienced
civil conflicts and
communist purges, which hindered its
economy. The country has since recovered and now has the largest economy (by GDP) in
East and
Central Africa.
[23][24][25] According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia also has the 51st most powerful
military in the world, and the fourth most powerful in Africa.
[26]
Nomenclature
The
Greek name
Αἰθιοπία (from
Αἰθίοψ,
Aithiops, 'an Ethiopian') is a compound word, derived from the two Greek words, from
αἴθω +
ὤψ (
aitho "I burn" +
ops "face"). According to the Perseus Digital Library, the designation properly translates as
Burnt-face in noun form and
red-brown in adjectival form.
[27] The historian
Herodotus used the appellation to denote the parts of Africa below the
Sahara that were then known within the
Ecumene (inhabitable world).
[28] However, the Greek formation may be a
folk etymology for the
Ancient Egyptian term
athtiu-abu, which means 'robbers of hearts'.
[29]
In
Greco-
Roman epigraphs,
Aethiopia was a specific toponym for ancient
Nubia.
[30] At least as early as c. 850,
[31] the name
Aethiopia also occurs in many translations of the
Old Testament in allusion to Nubia. The ancient
Hebrew texts identify Nubia instead as
Kush.
[32] However, in the
New Testament, the Greek term Aithiops does occur, referring to a servant of Candace or
Kandake, possibly an inhabitant of
Meroë in Nubia.
[33]
Following the Hellenic and Biblical traditions, the
Monumentum Adulitanum, a third century inscription belonging to the
Aksumite Empire,
indicates that Aksum's then ruler governed an area which was flanked to
the west by the territory of Ethiopia and Sasu. The Aksumite King
Ezana
would eventually conquer Nubia the following century, and the Aksumites
thereafter appropriated the designation "Ethiopians" for their own
kingdom. In the
Ge'ez version of the Ezana inscription, Aἰθιόποι is equated with the unvocalized
Ḥbštm and
Ḥbśt
(Ḥabashat), and denotes for the first time the highland inhabitants of
Aksum. This new demonym would subsequently be rendered as
’ḥbs (’Aḥbāsh) in
Sabaic and as
Ḥabasha in
Arabic.
[30]
In the 15th-century Ge'ez
Book of Aksum, the name is ascribed to a legendary individual called
Ityopp'is. He was an extra-Biblical son of
Cush, son of Ham, said to have founded the city of
Axum.
[34]
In English, and generally outside of Ethiopia, the country was once
historically known as Abyssinia. This toponym was derived from the
Latinized form of the ancient
Habash.
[35]
History
Prehistory
Several important finds have propelled Ethiopia and the surrounding region to the forefront of
palaeontology. The oldest
hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2 million year old
Ardipithicus ramidus (
Ardi) found by
Tim D. White in 1994.
[36] The most well known hominid discovery is
Australopithecus afarensis (
Lucy). Known locally as Dinkinesh, the specimen was found in the
Awash Valley of Ethiopia's
Afar Region in 1974 by
Donald Johanson, and is one of the most complete and best preserved adult
Australopithecine
fossils ever uncovered. Lucy's taxonomic name refers to the region
where the discovery was made. The hominid is estimated to have lived 3.2
million years ago.
[37][38][39]
Ethiopia is also considered one of the earliest sites of the emergence of
anatomically modern humans,
Homo sapiens. The oldest of these local fossil finds, the
Omo remains, were excavated in the southwestern
Omo Kibish area and have been dated to the
Middle Paleolithic, around 200,000 years ago.
[40] Additionally, skeletons of
Homo sapiens idaltu were found at a site in the
Middle Awash valley. Dated to approximately 160,000 years ago, they may represent an extinct subspecies of
Homo sapiens, or the immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans.
[41] Homo sapiens fossils excavated at the
Jebel Irhoud site in
Morocco have since been dated to an earlier period, about 300,000 years ago.
[42]
According to linguists, the first
Afroasiatic-speaking populations arrived in the region during the ensuing
Neolithic era from the family's proposed
urheimat ("original homeland") in the
Nile Valley,
[13] or the
Near East.
[43]
Other scholars propose that the Afroasiatic family developed in situ in
the Horn, with its speakers subsequently dispersing from there.
[44] Craniometric analysis of the Herto
Homo sapiens idaltu
skull found that the fossil was morphologically distinct from crania
belonging to modern Afroasiatic-speaking groups from the Horn of Africa
and
Dynastic Egypt.
The latter populations instead possessed Middle Eastern affinities.
This suggests that the Afroasiatic-speaking groups settled in the area
during a later epoch, having possibly arrived from the Middle East.
[45]
Antiquity
Around the 8th century BC, a kingdom known as
Dʿmt was established in northern Ethiopia and
Eritrea. The polity's capital was located at
Yeha, in northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be a native Ethiopian one, although
Sabaean-influenced because of the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea.
[15]
Other scholars regard Dʿmt as the result of a union of
Afroasiatic-speaking cultures of the Cushitic and Semitic branches;
namely, local Agaw peoples and Sabaeans from
South Arabia. However,
Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, is thought to have developed independently from
Sabaean, one of the
South Semitic languages. As early as 2000 BC, other Semitic speakers were living in Ethiopia and Eritrea where Ge'ez developed.
[46][47]
Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few
localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century. It may
have been a trading or military colony in alliance with the Ethiopian
civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.
[15]
After the fall of Dʿmt during the fourth century BC, the Ethiopian
plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms. In the first
century AD, the
Kingdom of Aksum emerged in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. According to the medieval
Book of Aksum, the kingdom's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush.
[34] Aksum would later at times extend its rule into Yemen on the other side of the Red Sea.
[48] The Persian religious figure
Mani listed Aksum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his era, during the 3rd century.
[49]
Around 316 AD,
Frumentius and his brother Edesius from
Tyre
accompanied their uncle on a voyage to Ethiopia. When the vessel
stopped at a Red Sea port, the natives killed all the travelers except
the two brothers, who were taken to the court as
slaves.
They were given positions of trust by the monarch, and they converted
members of the royal court to Christianity. Frumentius became the first
bishop of Aksum.
[50] A
coin dated to 324 shows that Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity (after
Armenia did so in 301), although the religion may have been at first confined to court circles; it was the first major power to do so.
As the Aksumite kingdom gradually declined, one of the earliest local Muslim states, the
Makhzumi Sultanate, was established in the
Shewa
region. The polity was governed by the Makhzumi dynasty, which reigned
over the province until it was deposed around 1280 by the
Walashma dynasty.
[51]
During Muhammad's era
The first interaction that the Islamic Prophet
Muhammad had with Ethiopia was during the reign of
Aṣḥama ibn Abjar, who was at the time the Emperor of
Aksum and gave refuge to several
Muslims in the
Kingdom of Aksum in 614 AD.
[52] According to other authors, Ashama may have been the same person as king
Armah, or his father or son.
[53] Taddesse Tamrat records that the inhabitants of
Wiqro, where the ruler is known as
Ashamat al-Negashi, claim that his tomb is located in their village.
[54][55]
Muhammad's second interaction with Ethiopia was during the
Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha, when he sent
Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri to the King of Ethiopia (then Abyssinia).
[56]
Middle Ages
The
Zagwe dynasty ruled many parts of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea between the early 12th and late 13th century. The name of the
dynasty is derived from the Cushitic-speaking
Agaw of northern Ethiopia. From 1270 AD until the
Zemene Mesafint (Age of Princes), the
Solomonic dynasty governed the
Ethiopian Empire.
[57]
In the early 15th century, Ethiopia sought to make diplomatic contact
with European kingdoms for the first time since the Aksumite era. A
letter from
Henry IV of England to the Emperor of Abyssinia survives.
[58] In 1428,
Yeshaq I sent two emissaries to
Alfonso V of Aragon, who sent return emissaries. They failed to complete the return trip.
[59] The first continuous relations with a European country began in 1508 with Portugal under
Dawit II (Lebna Dengel), who had just inherited the throne from his father.
[60]
This proved to be an important development, for when the Empire was subjected to the attacks of the
Adal Sultanate's general and
imam,
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (called "
Grañ " "the Left-handed"), Portugal assisted the Ethiopian emperor by sending weapons and four hundred men, who helped his son
Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule.
[61] This
Abyssinian–Adal war was also one of the first proxy wars in the region, as the
Ottoman Empire and
Portugal took sides in the conflict. When Emperor
Susenyos I converted to
Roman Catholicism in 1624, years of revolt and civil unrest followed, resulting in thousands of deaths.
[62] The
Jesuit missionaries had offended the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo faith of the local Ethiopians. In June 1632,
Fasilides,
Susenyos' son, declared the state religion again to be the Ethiopian
Orthodoxy. He expelled the Jesuit missionaries and other Europeans.
[63][64]
Aussa Sultanate
The
Sultanate of Aussa or "Afar Sultanate" succeeded the earlier
Imamate of Aussa. The latter polity had come into existence in 1577 when
Muhammed Jasa moved his capital from
Harar to Aussa (
Asaita) with the split of the
Adal Sultanate into the Sultanate of Aussa and the
Sultanate of Harar. At some point after 1672, the Sultanate of Aussa declined and temporarily came to an end in conjunction with Imam
Umar Din bin Adam's recorded ascension to the throne.
[65]
The Sultanate was subsequently re-established by
Kedafu around the year 1734. It was thereafter ruled by his
Mudaito Dynasty.
[66] The primary symbol of the Sultan was a silver
baton, which was considered to have magical properties.
[67]
Zemene Mesafint
Between 1755 and 1855, Ethiopia experienced a period of isolation referred to as the
Zemene Mesafint or "Age of Princes". The Emperors became figureheads, controlled by warlords like
Ras Mikael Sehul of
Tigray,
Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray, and by the
Yejju Oromo dynasty, such as
Ras Gugsa of Yejju, which later led to 17th-century Oromo rule of Gondar, changing the language of the court from Amharic to
Afaan Oromo.
[68][69]
Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that
concluded an alliance between the two nations, but it was not until 1855
that Ethiopia was completely united and the power in the Emperor
restored, beginning with the reign of
Tewodros II. Upon his ascent, he began
modernizing Ethiopia and recentralizing power in the Emperor. Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again.
[citation needed]
But Tewodros suffered several rebellions inside his empire. Northern
Oromo militias, Tigrayan rebellion, and the constant incursion of
Ottoman Empire and Egyptian forces near the Red Sea brought the
weakening and the final downfall of Tewodros II. He killed himself in
1868 during his last battle with the
British Expedition to Abyssinia. Emperor Tewodros II was born in
Begemder from a nobleman of
Qwara, where the
Qwara dialect of Agaw language is spoken.
After Tewodros' death,
Tekle Giyorgis II
was proclaimed Emperor. He was defeated in the Battles of Zulawu (21
June 1871) and Adua (11 July 1871). Kassai was subsequently declared
Yohannes IV
on 21 January 1872. In 1875 and 1876, Turkish/Egyptian forces,
accompanied by many European and American 'advisors', twice invaded
Abyssinia but were initially defeated: once at the Battle of Gundet
losing 800 men, and then in the second invasion, decisively defeated by
Emperor Yohannes IV at the
Battle of Gura on 7 March 1875, where the invading forces lost at least 3000 men by death or captured.
[70] From 1885 to 1889, Ethiopia joined the
Mahdist War
allied to Britain, Turkey, and Egypt against the Sudanese Mahdist
State. On 10 March 1889, Yohannes IV was killed by the Sudanese Khalifah
Abdullah's army whilst leading his army in the
Battle of Gallabat (also called Battle of Metemma).
[71]
From Menelik II to Adwa (1889–1913)
Ethiopia in its roughly current form began under the reign of
Menelik II, who was Emperor from 1889 until his death in 1913. From his base in the central province of
Shewa, Menelik set out to annex territories to the south, east and west,
[72] areas inhabited by the Oromo,
Sidama, Gurage,
Welayta, and other groups.
[73] He did this with the help of
Ras Gobana Dacche's
Shewan Oromo militia, which occupied lands that had not been held since
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's war, as well as other areas that had never
been under Ethiopian sovereignty.
[74] Menelik's campaign against Oromos outside his army was largely in retaliation for centuries of Oromo expansionism and the
Zemene Mesafint, a period during which a succession of Oromo feudal rulers dominated the highlanders.
[75] Chief among these was the Yejju dynasty, which included
Aligaz of Yejju and his brother
Ali I of Yejju. Ali I founded the town of
Debre Tabor in the
Amhara Region, which became the dynasty's capital.
[76]
Ethiopia and other territories in Africa in 1843
Menelik was born from King Hailemelekot of Shewa and his mother Ejegayehu Lema Adeyamo who was a servant in the royal household.
[77]
He had been born at Angolala in an Oromo area and had lived his first
twelve years with Shewan Oromos with whom he thus had much in common.
[78]
During his reign, Menelik II made advances in road construction,
electricity and education; the development of a central taxation system;
and the foundation and building of the city of Addis Ababa—which became
capital of Shewa Province in 1881. After he ascended to the throne in
1889, it was renamed as Addis Ababa, the new capital of Abyssinia.
Menelik had signed the Treaty of Wichale with Italy in May 1889 in which
Italy would recognize Ethiopia's sovereignty so long as Italy could
control an area north of Ethiopia (part of modern Eritrea). In return,
Italy was to provide Menelik with weapons and support him as emperor.
The Italians used the time between the signing of the treaty and its
ratification by the Italian government to expand their territorial
claims. This conflict erupted in the
Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896 in which Italy's colonial forces were defeated by the Ethiopians.
[73][79]
About a third of the population died in the
Great Ethiopian Famine (1888 to 1892).
[80][81]
Haile Selassie I era (1916–1974)
The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor
Haile Selassie
("Ras Tafari"). Haile Selassie I was born to parents from three of
Ethiopia's Afroasiatic-speaking populations: the Oromo and Amhara, the
country's two largest ethnic groups, as well as the
Gurage. He came to power after
Iyasu V was deposed, and undertook
a nationwide modernization campaign from 1916, when he was made a
Ras and Regent (
Inderase) for the
Empress Regnant,
Zewditu, and became the
de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu's death on 2 November 1930, he succeeded her as emperor.
[citation needed]
The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War, beginning when it was invaded by
Fascist Italy in early October 1935, and Italian occupation of the country (1936–1941).
[82] During this time, Haile Selassie appealed to the
League of Nations in 1935, delivering an address that made him a worldwide figure, and the 1935
Time Man of the Year.
[83]
As the majority of the Ethiopian population lived in rural towns, Italy
faced continued resistance and ambushes in urban centers throughout its
occupation. Haile Selassie fled into exile in
Fairfield House, Bath
and Mussolini was able to proclaim the Empire of Ethiopia and the
assumption of the imperial title by the Italian king Vittorio Emanuele
III, recognized by the countries belonging to the international
organization of the League of Nations.
[84]
In 1937, the Italian massacre of
Yekatit 12
occurred. This was when there were imprisonments and massacre of
Ethiopians. This was because of a failed attempt to assassinate the
Viceroy of Italian East Africa
Rodolfo Graziani.
[citation needed]
Following the entry of Italy into World War II,
British Empire forces, together with the
Arbegnoch (lit. "patriots", referring to armed resistance soldiers) restored sovereignty of Ethiopia in the course of the
East African Campaign in 1941. An
Italian guerrilla campaign continued until 1943. This was followed by British recognition of Ethiopia's full
sovereignty, (
i.e. without any special British privileges), with the signing of the
Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.
[85]
On 26 August 1942, Haile Selassie issued a proclamation that removed Ethiopia's legal basis for slavery.
[86] Ethiopia had between two and four million slaves in the early 20th century, out of a total population of about eleven million.
In 1952, Haile Selassie orchestrated the federation with Eritrea. He
dissolved this in 1962 and illegally annexed Eritrea against the UN
Federation Agreement, which resisted and finally won its
war of independence. Haile Selassie played a leading role in the formation of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.
[citation needed]
Opinion within Ethiopia turned against Haile Selassie I owing to the worldwide
oil crisis of 1973.
This oil crisis caused a sharp increase in gasoline prices starting on
13 February 1974; food shortages; uncertainty regarding the succession;
border wars; and discontent in the middle class created through
modernization.
[88]
The high gasoline prices motivated the taxi drivers and teachers to go
on strike on 18 February 1974, and students and workers in Addis Ababa
began demonstrating against the government on 20 February 1974.
[89] The feudal oligarchial cabinet of Akilou Habte Wolde was toppled, and a new government was formed with
Endelkachew Makonnen serving as Prime Minister.
[90]
Derg era (1974–1991)
Haile Selassie's reign came to an end on 12 September 1974, when he was deposed by the
Derg, a Soviet-backed
Marxist–Leninist military dictatorship led by
Mengistu Haile Mariam.
[91] The new Provisional Military Administrative Council established a one-party
communist state which was called
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in March 1975.
[citation needed]
The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale
drought, and a huge refugee problem. In 1977, Somalia, which had been
receiving assistance and arms from the
USSR, invaded Ethiopia in the
Ogaden War, capturing part of the Ogaden region. Ethiopia recovered it after it began receiving massive military aid from the USSR,
Cuba,
South Yemen,
East Germany,
[92] and
North Korea. This included around 15,000 Cuban combat troops.
[citation needed]
Between 1977–78, up to 500,000 were killed as a result of the
Red Terror,
[93] from forced deportations, or from the use of hunger as a weapon under Mengistu's rule.
[88]
The Red Terror was carried out in response to what the Derg termed as
the White Terror, a chain of violent events, assassinations, and
killings carried out by what it called "petty bourgeois reactionaries"
who desired a reversal of the 1974 revolution.
[94][95]
The
1983–85 famine in Ethiopia
affected around eight million people, resulting in one million dead.
Insurrections against Communist rule sprang up, particularly in the
northern regions of Eritrea and Tigray. In 1989, the
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition movements to form the coalition known as the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
[citation needed]
Concurrently, the Soviet Union began to retreat from building world communism under
Mikhail Gorbachev's
glasnost and
perestroika
policies, marking a dramatic reduction in aid to Ethiopia from
Socialist Bloc countries. This resulted in more economic hardship and
the collapse of the military in the face of determined onslaughts by
guerrilla forces in the north. The collapse of socialism in general, and
in
Eastern Europe during the
revolutions of 1989,
coincided with the Soviet Union stopping aid to Ethiopia altogether in
1990. The strategic outlook for Mengistu quickly deteriorated.
[citation needed]
In May 1991, EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa and the Soviet
Union did not intervene to save the government side. Mengistu fled the
country and was granted asylum in
Zimbabwe, where he still resides.
[citation needed]
In 2006, after a trial that lasted 12 years, Ethiopia's Federal High Court in Addis Ababa found Mengistu guilty of
genocide in absentia.
[96] Numerous other top leaders of his regime were also found guilty of
war crimes. Mengistu and others who had fled the country were tried and sentenced
in absentia.
Numerous former officials received the death sentence and tens of
others spent the next 20 years in jail, before being pardoned from life
sentences.
[citation needed]
In July 1991, EPRDF convened a National Conference to establish the
Transitional Government of Ethiopia
composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a
national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution. In June 1992, the
Oromo Liberation Front withdrew from the government; in March 1993, members of the
Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition also left the government.
[citation needed]
In 1994, a new constitution was written that established a
parliamentary republic with a bicameral legislature and a judicial
system.
[1]
Federal Democratic Republic (1991–present)
The
1st multiparty election took place in May 1995, which was won by the EPRDF. The president of the transitional government, EPRDF leader
Meles Zenawi, became
Prime Minister, and
Negasso Gidada was elected President.
[99]
In May 1998, a border dispute with Eritrea led to the
Eritrean–Ethiopian War, which lasted until June 2000 and cost both countries an estimated $1 million a day.
[100] This had a negative effect on Ethiopia's economy,
[101] but strengthened the ruling coalition.
[citation needed]
Ethiopia's
3rd multiparty election on 15 May 2005 was highly disputed, with some opposition groups claiming fraud. Though the
Carter Center approved the pre-election conditions, it expressed its dissatisfaction with post-election events.
European Union
election observers cited state support for the EPRDF campaign, as well
as irregularities in ballot counting and results publishing.
[102] The opposition parties gained more than 200 parliamentary seats, compared with just 12 in the
2000 elections.
While most of the opposition representatives joined the parliament,
some leaders of the CUD party who refused to take up their parliamentary
seats were accused of inciting the post-election violence and were
imprisoned.
Amnesty International considered them "
prisoners of conscience" and they were subsequently released.
[103]
A coalition of
opposition parties and some individuals was established in 2009 to oust the regime of the EPRDF in
legislative elections of 2010.
Meles' party, which has been in power since 1991, published its 65-page
manifesto in Addis Ababa on 10 October 2009. The opposition won most
votes in Addis Ababa, but the EPRDF halted counting of votes for several
days. After it ensued, it claimed the election, amidst charges of fraud
and intimidation.
[104]
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development headquarters
Some of the eight member parties of the
Medrek (Forum for Democratic Dialogue) include the
Oromo Federalist Congress (organized by the
Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement and the
Oromo People's Congress), the
Arena Tigray (organized by former members of the ruling party TPLF), the
Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ, whose leader is imprisoned), and the
Coalition of Somali Democratic Forces.
[citation needed]
In mid-2011, two consecutively missed rainy seasons precipitated the worst
drought in East Africa
seen in 60 years. Full recovery from the drought's effects did not
occur until 2012, with long-term strategies by the national government
in conjunction with development agencies believed to offer the most
sustainable results.
[105]
Meles died on 20 August 2012 in Brussels, where he was being treated for an unspecified illness.
[106] Deputy Prime Minister
Hailemariam Desalegn was appointed as a new prime minister until the
2015 elections,
[107] and remained so afterwards with his party in control of every parliamentary seat.
[108]
Protests broke out across the country on 5 August 2016
and dozens of protesters were subsequently shot and killed by police.
The protesters demanded an end to human rights abuses, the release of
political prisoners, a fairer redistribution of the wealth generated by
over a decade of economic growth, and a return of
Wolqayt District to the
Amhara Region.
[109][110][111] The events were the most violent crackdown against protesters in
Sub-Saharan Africa since the Ethiopian regime killed at least 75 people during protests in the
Oromia Region in November and December 2015.
[112][113] Following these protests, Ethiopia declared a
state of emergency on 6 October 2016.
[114] The state of emergency was lifted in August 2017.
[115]
On February 16, 2018, the government of Ethiopia declared a six-month
nationwide state of emergency following the resignation of Prime
Minister
Hailemariam Desalegn.
[116]
Hailemariam is the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step
down; previous leaders have died in office or been overthrown.
[117] He said he wanted to clear the way for reforms.
Politics
The politics of Ethiopia takes place in a framework of a
federal parliamentary republic, wherein 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.
[118] The current realities of this provision are questioned in a report prepared by
Freedom House.
[119]
According to the
Democracy Index published by the United Kingdom-based
Economist Intelligence Unit in late 2010, Ethiopia is an "authoritarian regime", ranking as the 118th-most democratic out of 167 countries.
[120]
Ethiopia has dropped 12 places on the list since 2006, and the latest
report attributes the drop to the government's crackdown on opposition
activities, media and civil society before the
2010 parliamentary election, which the report argues has made Ethiopia a
de facto one-party state.
In July 2015, during a trip that then US President
Barack Obama took to Ethiopia, he highlighted the role of the country in the fight against Islamic terrorism.
[121] Obama was the first sitting United States president to visit Ethiopia.
Governance
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.
[122]
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.
[122]
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.
[123]
Meles' 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 Meles 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.
[122] 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.
[124]
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).
[123] The government has been engaged in a conflict with rebels in the
Ogaden region since 2007. The biggest opposition party in 2005 was the
Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). After various internal divisions, most of the CUD party leaders have established the new
Unity for Democracy and Justice party led by Judge
Birtukan Mideksa. A member of the country's
Oromo ethnic group, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa is the first woman to lead a political party in Ethiopia.
In 2008, the top five opposition parties were the Unity for Democracy and Justice led by Judge Birtukan Mideksa,
United Ethiopian Democratic Forces led by Dr.
Beyene Petros,
Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement led by Dr.
Bulcha Demeksa,
Oromo People's Congress led by Dr. Merera Gudina, and
United Ethiopian Democratic Party – Medhin Party led by
Lidetu Ayalew. After the 2015 elections, Ethiopia lost its single remaining opposition MP;
[125] there are now no opposition MPs in the Ethiopian parliament.
[126]
Human rights
Recent human rights violations include the killing of 100 peaceful
protestors by direct government gunfire in the Oromo and Amhara regions in 2016.
[127] The UN has called for UN observers on the ground in Ethiopia to investigate this incident,
[128] however the EPRDF-dominated Ethiopian government has refused this call.
[129]
The protestors are protesting land grabs and lack of basic human rights
such as the freedom to elect their representatives. The TPLF-dominated
EPRDF won 100% in an election marked by fraud which has resulted in
Ethiopian civilians protesting on scale unseen in prior post-election
protests.
[130]
Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo People's Congress, said the East
African country was at a "crossroads". "People are demanding their
rights," he said. "People are fed up with what the regime has been doing
for a quarter of a century. They're protesting against land grabs,
reparations, stolen elections, the rising cost of living, many things.
"If the government continue to repress while the people are demanding
their rights in the millions that (civil war) is one of the likely
scenarios," Merera said in an interview with Reuters.
[130]
According to surveys in 2003 by the National Committee on Traditional Practices in Ethiopia,
marriage by abduction accounts for 69% of the nation's marriages, with around 80% in the largest region, Oromiya, and as high as 92% in the
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
[131][132] Homosexual acts are illegal in Ethiopia.
[133]
Among the Omotic
Karo-speaking and
Hamer peoples in southern Ethiopia, adults and children with physical abnormalities are considered to be
mingi,
"ritually impure". The latter are believed to exert an evil influence
upon others; disabled infants have traditionally been murdered without a
proper burial.
[134] The Karo officially banned the practice in July 2012.
[135]
In 2013, the
Oakland Institute
released a report accusing the Ethiopian government of forcing the
relocation of "hundreds of thousands of indigenous people from their
lands" in the
Gambela Region[136]
The report describes the Ethiopian government's "plans to move over 1.5
million people" by the end of 2013, in order to allow foreign investors
to develop the land for large scale
industrial agriculture.
[136]
According to several reports by the organization, those who refused
were the subject of a variety of intimidation techniques including
physical and sexual abuse, which sometimes led to deaths.
[137][138][139] A similar 2012 report by
Human Rights Watch also describes the Ethiopian government's 2010–2011
villagization program in Gambella, with plans to carry out similar resettlements in other regions.
[140] The Ethiopian government has denied the accusations of
land grabbing and instead pointed to the positive trajectory of the countries economy as evidence of the development program's benefits.
[139]
Administrative divisions
Before 1996, Ethiopia was divided into thirteen
provinces, many derived from historical regions. The nation now has a tiered governmental system consisting of a
federal government overseeing ethnically based regional states, zones,
districts (
woreda), and
kebeles ("neighbourhoods").
Since 1996, Ethiopia has been divided into nine ethnically-based and politically autonomous
regional states (
kililoch, singular
kilil ) and two chartered cities (
astedader akababiwoch, singular
astedader akababi ), the latter being
Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa. The
kililoch are subdivided into sixty-eight
zones, and then further into 550
woredas and several special
woredas.
The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states, which
can establish their own government and democracy as long as it is in
line with the federal government's constitution. Each region has at its
apex a 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).
| Population[141] |
| Addis Ababa (አዲስ አበባ) |
astedader |
Addis Ababa |
526.99 |
2,100,031 |
2,738,248 |
3,041,002 |
| Afar (ዓፋር) |
kilil |
Semera |
72,052.78 |
1,051,641 |
1,411,092 |
1,602,995 |
| Amhara (አማራ) |
kilil |
Bahir Dar |
154,708.96 |
13,270,898 |
17,214,056 |
18,866,002 |
| Benishangul-Gumuz (ቤ/ጉሙዝ) |
kilil |
Asosa |
50,698.68 |
460,325 |
670,847 |
982,004 |
| Dire Dawa (ድሬዳዋ) |
astedader |
Dire Dawa |
1,558.61 |
248,549 |
342,827 |
387,000 |
| Gambela (ጋምቤላ) |
kilil |
Gambela |
29,782.82 |
162,271 |
306,916 |
385,997 |
| Harari (ሐረሪ) |
kilil |
Harar |
333.94 |
130,691 |
183,344 |
210,000 |
| Oromia (ኦሮምያ) |
kilil |
Addis Ababa |
284,538 |
18,465,449 |
27,158,471 |
31,294,992 |
| Somali (ሶማሌ) |
kilil |
Jijiga |
279,252.00 |
3,144,963 |
4,439,147 |
5,148,989 |
| Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (ደቡብ ብ/ብ/ሕ) |
kilil |
Awasa |
105,887.18 |
10,377,028 |
15,042,531 |
17,359,008 |
| Tigray (ትግራይ) |
kilil |
Mek'ele |
41,410 |
3,134,470 |
4,314,456 |
4,929,999 |
| Special enumerated zones |
|
|
|
96,570 |
112,999 |
| Totals |
1,127,127.00 |
51,766,239 |
73,918,505 |
84,320,987 |
Geography
Ethiopia map of Köppen climate classification
At 1,126,829 square kilometres (435,071 sq mi),
[142] Ethiopia is the world's 27th-largest country, comparable in size to
Bolivia. It lies between the
3rd parallel north and the
15th parallel north and longitudes
33rd meridian east and
48th meridian east.
The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the
Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia are
Sudan and
South Sudan to the west,
Djibouti and
Eritrea to the north,
Somalia to the east and
Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a vast 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.
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 southwestern 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, the
walia ibex and the
Ethiopian wolf
("Simien fox"). The wide range of altitude has given the country a
variety of ecologically distinct areas, and this has helped to encourage
the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation.
Climate
The predominant climate type is tropical monsoon, with wide topographic-induced variation. The
Ethiopian Highlands
cover most of the country and have a climate which is generally
considerably cooler than other regions at similar proximity to the
Equator. Most of the country's major cities are located at elevations of
around 2,000–2,500 m (6,562–8,202 ft) above sea level, including
historic capitals such as Gondar and Axum.
The modern capital, Addis Ababa, is situated on the foothills of
Mount Entoto
at an elevation of around 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). It experiences a
mild climate year round. With temperatures fairly uniform year round,
the seasons in Addis Ababa are largely defined by rainfall: a dry season
from October to February, a light rainy season from March to May, and a
heavy rainy season from June to September. The average annual rainfall
is approximately 1,200 millimetres (47 in).
There are on average 7 hours of sunshine per day. The dry season is
the sunniest time of the year, though even at the height of the rainy
season in July and August there are still usually several hours per day
of bright sunshine. The average annual temperature in Addis Ababa is
16 °C (60.8 °F), with daily maximum temperatures averaging 20–25 °C
(68.0–77.0 °F) throughout the year, and overnight lows averaging 5–10 °C
(41.0–50.0 °F).
Most major cities and tourist sites in Ethiopia lie at a similar
elevation to Addis Ababa and have a comparable climate. In less elevated
regions, particularly the lower lying
Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands in the east of the country, the climate can be significantly hotter and drier. Dallol, in the
Danakil Depression in this eastern zone, has the world's highest average annual temperature of 34 °C (93.2 °F).
Environment
Wildlife
Ethiopia has 31 endemic species of mammals.
[143] The
African wild dog prehistorically had widespread distribution in the territory. However, with last sightings at
Finicha'a, this canid is thought to be potentially
locally extinct. The Ethiopian wolf is perhaps the most researched of all the endangered species within Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is a global center of avian diversity. To date more than 856
bird species have been recorded in Ethiopia, twenty of which are
endemic to the country.
[144] Sixteen species are endangered or critically endangered. A large number of these birds feed on butterflies, like the
Bicyclus anynana.[145]
Historically, throughout the African continent,
wildlife populations have been rapidly declining due to logging, civil wars, pollution, poaching, and other human factors.
[146]
A 17-year-long civil war, along with severe drought, negatively
impacted Ethiopia's environmental conditions, leading to even greater
habitat degradation.
[147]
Habitat destruction is a factor that leads to endangerment. When
changes to a habitat occur rapidly, animals do not have time to adjust.
Human impact threatens many species, with greater threats expected as a
result of climate change induced by
greenhouse gases.
[148]
With carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 of 6,494,000 tonnes, Ethiopia
contributes just 0.02% to the annual human-caused release of greenhouse
gases.
[149]
Ethiopia has a large number of species listed as critically
endangered, endangered, and vulnerable to global extinction. The
threatened species in Ethiopia can be broken down into three categories
(based on
IUCN ratings):
critically endangered,
endangered, and
vulnerable.
[143]
Deforestation
Ethiopia is one of the eight fundamental and independent centers of origin for cultivated plants in the world.
[151]
However, 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 20th century, around 420,000 km
2 (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.
[152]
Ethiopia loses an estimated 1,410 km
2 of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 21,000 km
2 of forests.
[citation needed]
Current government programs to control deforestation consist of
education, promoting reforestation programs, and providing raw materials
which are alternatives 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.
[citation needed] [153]
Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the
federal government and local governments to create a system of forest
management.
[154]
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.
[citation needed]
Economy
According to the
IMF, Ethiopia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world, registering over 10% economic growth from 2004 through 2009.
[155] It was the fastest-growing non-oil-dependent African economy in the years 2007 and 2008.
[156]
In 2015, the World Bank highlighted that Ethiopia had witnessed rapid
economic growth with real domestic product (GDP) growth averaging 10.9%
between 2004 and 2014.
[157]
In 2008 and 2011, Ethiopia's growth performance and considerable development gains were challenged by high
inflation and a difficult
balance of payments situation. Inflation surged to 40% in August 2011 because of loose
monetary policy, large
civil service wage increase in early 2011, and high food prices.
[158]
For 2011/12, end-year inflation was projected to be about 22%, and
single digit inflation is projected in 2012/13 with the implementation
of tight monetary and fiscal policies.
[159]
In spite of fast growth in recent years, GDP per capita is one of the
lowest in the world, and the economy faces a number of serious
structural problems. However, with a focused investment in public
infrastructure and industrial parks, Ethiopia's economy is addressing
its structural problems to become a hub for light manufacturing in
Africa.
[160]
The Ethiopian
constitution
defines the right to own land as belonging only to "the state and the
people", but citizens may lease land (up to 99 years), and are unable to
mortgage or sell. Renting of land for a maximum of twenty years is
allowed and this is expected to ensure that land goes to the most
productive user. Land distribution and administration is considered an
area where corruption is institutionalized, and facilitation payments as
well as bribes are often demanded when dealing with land-related
issues.
[161]
As there is no land ownership, infrastructural projects are most often
simply done without asking the land users, which then end up being
displaced and without home or land. A lot of anger and distrust
sometimes results in public protests. In addition, agricultural
productivity remains low, and frequent droughts still beset the country,
also leading to internal displacement.
[162]
Energy and hydropower
Ethiopia has 14 major rivers, which flow from its highlands, including the
Nile.
The country has the largest water reserves in Africa. As of 2012,
hydroelectric plants represented around 88.2% of the total installed
electricity capacity. The remaining electrical power was generated from
fossil fuels (8.3%) and other renewable sources (3.6%). The
electrification rate for the total population in 2013 was 24%, with 85%
coverage in urban areas and 10% coverage in rural areas. As of 2014,
total electricity production was 9.5 billion kWh and consumption was 6.7
billion kWh. There were 1.1 billion kWh in electricity exports, 0 kWh
in electricity imports, and 2.4 million kW of installed generating
capacity.
[8]
Ethiopia delivers roughly 81% of water volume to the Nile through the river basins of the
Blue Nile,
Sobat River and
Atbara. In 1959, Egypt and Sudan signed a bilateral treaty, the
1959 Nile Waters Agreement,
which gave both countries exclusive maritime rights over the Nile
waters. Ever since, Egypt under international law vetoed almost all
projects in Ethiopia that sought to utilize the local Nile tributaries.
This had the effect of discouraging external financing of hydropower and
irrigation projects in western Ethiopia, thereby impeding water
resource-based economic development projects. However, Ethiopia is in
the process of constructing a large 6,450 MW hydroelectric dam on the
Blue Nile river. When completed, this
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is slated to be the largest hydroelectric power station on the continent.
[163] The
Gibe III hydroelectric project already generates an estimated 1,870-MW.
[164]
Agriculture
Agriculture constitutes around 85% of the labour force. However, the service sector represents the largest portion of the
GDP.
[8]
Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including
marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production
is overwhelmingly by small-scale farmers and enterprises, and a large
part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural
cash-crop sector. Principal crops include
coffee,
legumes,
oilseeds,
cereals, potatoes,
sugarcane, and vegetables.
Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities (with the exception of
Gold exports), and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is Africa's second biggest
maize producer.
[165] According to UN estimations the per capita GDP of Ethiopia has reached $357 as of 2011.
[166]
The same report indicated that the life expectancy had improved
substantially in recent years. The life expectancy of men is reported to
be 56 years and for women 60 years.
Exports
Exports from Ethiopia in the 2009/2010 financial year totaled 1.4 billion USD.
[167] The country produces more coffee than any other nation on the continent.
[168]
Ethiopia also has the 5th largest inventory of
cattle.
[169] 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.
[170]
Cross-border trade by pastoralists is often informal and beyond state control and regulation. In
East Africa,
over 95% of cross-border trade is through unofficial channels. The
unofficial trade of live cattle, camels, sheep, and goats from Ethiopia
sold to
Somalia,
Djibouti, and
Kenya generates an estimated total value of between 250 and 300 million USD annually (100 times more than the official figure).
[171]
This trade helps lower food prices, increase food security, relieve border tensions, and promote regional integration.
[171]
However, the unregulated and undocumented nature of this trade runs
risks, such as allowing disease to spread more easily across national
borders. Furthermore, the government of Ethiopia is purportedly unhappy
with lost tax revenue and foreign exchange revenues.
[171] Recent initiatives have sought to document and regulate this trade.
[171]
With the private sector growing slowly, designer leather products
like bags are becoming a big export business, with Taytu becoming the
first luxury designer label in the country.
[172]
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,
Ethiopia also plans to export electric power to its neighbors.
[173][174]
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.
[175] Most regard Ethiopia's large water resources and potential as its "white oil" and its coffee resources as "black gold".
[176][177]
The country also has large mineral resources and oil potential in
some of the less inhabited regions. Political instability in those
regions, however, has inhibited development. Ethiopian geologists were
implicated in a major gold swindle in 2008. Four chemists and geologists
from the Ethiopian Geological Survey were arrested in connection with a
fake gold scandal, following complaints from buyers in South Africa.
Gold bars from the National Bank of Ethiopia were found by police to be
gilded metal, costing the state around 17 million USD, according to the
Science and Development Network website.
[178]
In 2011, the
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project was commenced. When completed, it will provide surplus
energy in Ethiopia which will be available for export to neighboring countries.
Transportation
Ethiopia has 926 km of electrified
1,435 mm (
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
standard gauge railways, 656 km for the
Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway between Addis Ababa and the
Port of Djibouti (via
Awash)
[179] and 270 km for the
Awash – Hara Gebeya Railway between Addis Ababa and the
twin cities of
Dessie/
Kombolcha[180]
(also via Awash). Both railways are either in trial service or still
under construction as of August 2017. Once commissioned and fully
operational in 2018/2019, both railways will allow passenger transport
with a designated speed of 120 km/hour and freight transport with a
speed of ~80 km/hour. Expected travel time from Addis Ababa to
Djibouti City for passengers would be less than twelve hours and travel time from Addis Ababa to Dessie/Kombolcha would be around six hours.
Beyond the first 270 km of the Awash – Hara Gebeya Railway, a second
construction phase over 120 km foresees the extension of this railway
from Dessie/Kombolcha to
Hara Gebeya/
Woldiya. It is not clear, when this section will be built and opened.
[181]
A third, northern 216 km long railway is also under construction
between Mek'ele and Woldiya, but it is also not clear, when this railway
will be commissioned and opened.
[182] All railways are part of a future railway network of more than 5,000 km of railways, the
National Railway Network of Ethiopia.
As the first part of a ten-year Road Sector Development Program,
between 1997 and 2002 the Ethiopian government began a sustained effort
to improve its infrastructure of roads. As a result, as of 2015 Ethiopia has a total (Federal and Regional) of 100,000 km of roads, both paved and gravel.
[183]
Ethiopia had 58 airports as of 2012,
[8] and 61 as of 2016.
[184] Among these, the
Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa and the
Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport in Dire Dawa accommodate international flights.
Ethiopian Airlines is the country's
flag carrier, and is wholly owned by the
Government of Ethiopia.
[185]
From its hub at the Bole International Airport, the airline serves a
network of 102 international 20 domestic passenger, and 44 cargo,
destinations.
[186][187] It is also one of the fastest-growing carriers in the industry and continent.
[188]
Demographics
Ethiopia's population has grown from 33.5 million in 1983 to 87.9 million in 2014.
[189] The population was only about 9 million in the 19th century.
[190]
The 2007 Population and Housing Census results show that the population
of Ethiopia grew at an average annual rate of 2.6% between 1994 and
2007, down from 2.8% during the period 1983–1994. Currently, the
population growth rate is among the top ten countries in the world. The
population is forecast to grow to over 210 million by 2060, which would
be an increase from 2011 estimates by a factor of about 2.5.
[191]
| Population in Ethiopia[192] |
| Year |
Million |
Difference |
| 1950 |
18.4 |
– |
| 1960 |
22.5 |
4.1 |
| 1970 |
29.0 |
6.5 |
| 1980 |
35.4 |
6.4 |
| 1990 |
48.3 |
12.9 |
| 2000 |
65.6 |
17.3 |
| 2010 |
82.9 |
17.3 |
| 2013 |
93.8 |
>10.9 |
The country's population is highly diverse, containing over 80
different ethnic groups. According to the Ethiopian national census of
2007, the
Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, at 34.4% of the nation's population. The
Amhara represent 27.0% of the country's inhabitants, while
Somalis and
Tigrayans represent 6.22% and 6.08% of the population, respectively. Other prominent ethnic groups are as follows:
Sidama 4.00%,
Gurage 2.52%,
Welayta 2.27%,
Afar 1.73%,
Hadiya 1.72%,
Gamo 1.49% and
others 12.6%.
[4]
Afroasiatic-speaking
communities make up the majority of the population. Among these,
Semitic speakers often collectively refer to themselves as the
Habesha people. The
Arabic form of this term (
al-Ḥabasha) is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia," the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.
[193] Additionally,
Nilo-Saharan-speaking ethnic minorities inhabit the southern regions of the country, particularly in areas of the
Gambela Region which borders
South Sudan. The largest ethnic groups among these include the
Nuer and
Anuak.
In 2009, Ethiopia hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers
numbering approximately 135,200. The majority of this population came
from Somalia (approximately 64,300 persons), Eritrea (41,700) and Sudan
(25,900). The Ethiopian government required nearly all refugees to live
in refugee camps.
[194]
Languages
According to
Ethnologue, there are 90 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia.
[195] Most people in the country speak
Afroasiatic languages of the
Cushitic or
Semitic branches. The former includes
Oromiffa, spoken by the
Oromo, and
Somali, spoken by the
Somalis; the latter includes
Amharic, spoken by the
Amhara, and
Tigrinya, spoken by the
Tigrayans.
Together, these four groups make up about three-quarters of Ethiopia's
population. Other Afroasiatic languages with a significant number of
speakers include the Cushitic
Sidamo,
Afar,
Hadiyya and
Agaw languages, as well as the Semitic
Gurage languages,
Harari,
Silt'e, and
Argobba languages.
[4] Arabic, which also belongs to the Afroasiatic family, is likewise spoken in some areas.
[196]
Additionally,
Omotic languages are spoken by Omotic ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Among these idioms are
Aari,
Bench,
Dime,
Dizin,
Gamo-Gofa-Dawro,
Maale,
Hamer, and
Wolaytta.
[4]
Languages from the
Nilo-Saharan family are also spoken by ethnic minorities concentrated in the southwestern parts of the country. These languages include
Nuer,
Anuak,
Nyangatom,
Majang,
Suri,
Me'en, and
Mursi.
[4]
English is the most widely spoken foreign language, and is the medium
of instruction in secondary schools. Amharic was the language of
primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by
regional languages such as Oromiffa, Somali or Tigrinya.
[197] While all languages enjoy equal state recognition in the
1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Amharic is recognized as the official
working language of the
Federal Government.
[1] The various
regions of Ethiopia and
chartered cities are free to determine their own working languages.
[197] Amharic is recognised as the official working language of
Amhara Region,
Benishangul-Gumuz,
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region,
Gambela Region,
Addis Abeba and
Dire Dawa,
[198] while Afar,
[199] Harari,
[200] Oromiffa,
[201] Somali
[202] and Tigrinya
[203] are recognized as official working languages in their respective regions.
Script
In terms of
writing systems, Ethiopia's principal orthography is the
Ge'ez script. Employed as an
abugida for several of the country's languages, it first came into usage in the 6th and 5th centuries BC as an
abjad to transcribe the Semitic
Ge'ez language.
[204] Ge'ez now serves as the liturgical language of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. During the 1980s, the Ethiopic character set was computerized. It is today part of the
Unicode standard as Ethiopic,
Ethiopic Extended,
Ethiopic Supplement and
Ethiopic Extended-A.
Other writing systems have also been used over the years by different Ethiopian communities. The latter include
Bakri Sapalo's script for Oromiffa.
[205]
Religion
Religion in Ethiopia (2007)
Other (0.7%)
Ethiopia has close historical ties with all three of the world's major
Abrahamic religions. In the 4th century, the Ethiopian empire was one of the first in the world to officially adopt
Christianity as the state religion. As a result of the resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 the
miaphysites,
[206] which included the vast majority of Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia, were accused of
monophysitism and designated as heretics under the common name of
Coptic Christianity (see
Oriental Orthodoxy). While no longer distinguished as a state religion, the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church remains the majority
Christian denomination. There is also a substantial
Muslim demographic, representing around a third of the population. Additionally, Ethiopia is the site of the
First Hegira, a major emigration in Islamic history. A town in the
Tigray Region,
Negash is the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa. Until the 1980s, a substantial population of
Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) resided in Ethiopia.
[207][208]
According to the 2007 National Census, Christians make up 62.8% of
the country's population (43.5% Ethiopian Orthodox, 19.3% other
denominations), Muslims 33.9%, practitioners of traditional faiths 2.6%,
and other religions 0.6%.
[4]
This is in agreement with the CIA World Factbook, which states that
Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia.
[8]
The ratio of the Christian to Muslim population has largely remained
stable when compared to previous censuses conducted decades ago.
[2] Sunnis form the majority of Muslims with
non-denominational Muslims being the second largest group of Muslims, and
the Shia and
Ahmadiyyas are a minority. Sunnis are largely
Shafi'is or
Salafis, and there are also many
Sufi Muslims there.
[209]
The large Muslim population in the northern Afar region has resulted in
a Muslim separatist movement called the "Islamic State of Afaria"
seeking a
sharia-compliant constitution.
[210]
The
Kingdom of Aksum was one of the first polities to officially embrace
Christianity, when
Frumentius of
Tyre, called Fremnatos or Abba Selama ("Father of Peace") in Ethiopia, converted Emperor
Ezana during the fourth century.
[50][207] According to the
New Testament, Christianity had entered Ethiopia even earlier, when an official in the Ethiopian royal treasury was baptized by
Philip the Evangelist.
[211]
The
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of
Oriental Orthodoxy. It is by far the largest Christian denomination, although a number of
P'ent'ay (
Protestant) churches have recently gained ground. Since 1930, a relatively small
Ethiopian Catholic Church has existed in
full communion with Rome, with adherents making up less than 1% of the total population.
[2]
Islam in Ethiopia dates back to the founding of the religion in 622 when a group of Muslims were counseled by
Muhammad to escape persecution in
Mecca. The disciples subsequently
migrated to Abyssinia via modern-day Eritrea, which was at the time ruled by
Ashama ibn-Abjar, a pious Christian emperor.
[207] Also, the largest single ethnic group of
non-Arab Sahabah was that of the Ethiopians.
[citation needed]
A small ancient group of
Jews, the
Beta Israel, live in northwestern Ethiopia, though most immigrated to
Israel in the last decades of the 20th century as part of the Israeli government's relocation missions:
Operation Moses and
Operation Solomon.
[212][213]
According to the 2007 Population and Housing Census, around 1,957,944 people in Ethiopia are adherents of
traditional religions. An additional 471,861 residents practice other creeds.
[4]
While followers of all religions can be found in each region, they tend
to be concentrated in certain parts of the country. Christians
predominantly live in the northern Amhara and Tigray regions, and are
largely members of the non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church. Those belonging to P'ent'ay are centered in the Southern
Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP) and Oromia. Muslims
in Ethiopia predominantly adhere to
Sunni Islam
and generally inhabit eastern and northeastern areas; particularly the
Somali, Afar, Dire Dawa and Harari regions. Practitioners of traditional
religions mainly reside in the nation's far southwestern and western
rural borderlands, in the SNNP, Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambela regions.
[4][207]
Human rights groups
have regularly accused the government of arresting activists,
journalists and bloggers to stamp out dissent among some religious
communities. Lengthy prison terms were handed to 17 Muslim activists on 3
August 2015 ranging from seven to 22 years. They were charged with
trying to create an Islamic state in the majority Christian country. All
the defendants denied the charges and claimed that they were merely
protesting in defence of their rights.
[214][215][216]
Urbanization
Population growth, migration, and urbanization are all straining both
governments' and ecosystems' capacity to provide people with basic
services.
[217]
Urbanization has steadily been increasing in Ethiopia, with two periods
of significantly rapid growth. First, in 1936–1941 during the Italian
occupation of Mussolini's fascist regime, and from 1967 to 1975 when the
populations of urban centers tripled.
[218]
In 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia, building infrastructure to connect major cities, and a dam providing power and water.
[219]
This along with the influx of Italians and laborers was the major cause
of rapid growth during this period. The second period of growth was
from 1967 to 1975 when rural populations migrated to urban centers
seeking work and better living conditions.
[218]
This pattern slowed due to the 1975 Land Reform program instituted by
the government, which provided incentives for people to stay in rural
areas. As people moved from rural areas to the cities, there were fewer
people to grow food for the population. The Land Reform Act was meant to
increase agriculture since food production was not keeping up with
population growth over the period of 1970–1983. This program
proliferated the formation of peasant associations, large villages based
on agriculture. The act did lead to an increase in food production,
although there is debate over the cause; it may be related to weather
conditions more than the reform act.
[220] Urban populations have continued to grow with an 8.1% increase from 1975 to 2000.
[221]
Largest cities or towns in Ethiopia
CSA (Urban population projection values of 2016)
|
|
Rank |
Name |
Region |
Pop. |
Rank |
Name |
Region |
Pop. |
|
Addis Ababa
Adama |
1 |
Addis Ababa |
Addis Ababa |
3,352,000 |
11 |
Shashamane |
Oromia |
154,587 |
Gondar
Mek'ele |
| 2 |
Adama |
Oromia |
342,940 |
12 |
Bishoftu |
Oromia |
153,847 |
| 3 |
Gondar |
Amhara |
341,991 |
13 |
Sodo |
SNNPR |
153,322 |
| 4 |
Mek'ele |
Tigray |
340,858 |
14 |
Arba Minch |
SNNPR |
151,013 |
| 5 |
Hawassa |
SNNPR |
318,618 |
15 |
Hosaena |
SNNPR |
141,352 |
| 6 |
Bahir Dar |
Amhara |
297,794 |
16 |
Harar |
Harari |
133,000 |
| 7 |
Dire Dawa |
Dire Dawa |
285,000 |
17 |
Dila |
SNNPR |
119,276 |
| 8 |
Dessie |
Amhara |
198,428 |
18 |
Nekemte |
Oromia |
115,741 |
| 9 |
Jimma |
Oromia |
186,148 |
19 |
Debre Birhan |
Amhara |
107,827 |
| 10 |
Jijiga |
Somali |
164,321 |
20 |
Asella |
Oromia |
103,522 |
Rural and urban life
Migration to urban areas is usually motivated by the hope of better
lives. In peasant associations daily life is a struggle to survive.
About 16% of the population in Ethiopia are living on less than 1 dollar
per day (2008). Only 65% of rural households in Ethiopia consume the
World Health Organization's minimum standard of food per day (2,200 kilocalories), with 42% of children under 5 years old being underweight.
[222]
Most poor families (75%) share their sleeping quarters with
livestock, and 40% of children sleep on the floor, where nighttime
temperatures average 5 degrees Celsius in the cold season.
[222]
The average family size is six or seven, living in a 30-square-meter
mud and thatch hut, with less than two hectares of land to cultivate.
[222]
The peasant associations face a cycle of poverty. Since the
landholdings are so small, farmers cannot allow the land to lie fallow,
which reduces soil fertility.
[222] This
land degradation reduces the production of fodder for livestock, which causes low milk yields.
[222]
Since the community burns livestock manure as fuel, rather than plowing
the nutrients back into the land, the crop production is reduced.
[222]
The low productivity of agriculture leads to inadequate incomes for
farmers, hunger, malnutrition and disease. These unhealthy farmers have
difficulty working the land and the productivity drops further.
[222]
Although conditions are drastically better in cities, all of Ethiopia suffers from
poverty and poor
sanitation. However, poverty in Ethiopia fell from 44% to 29.6% during 2000–2011, according to the World Bank.
[223] In the capital city of
Addis Ababa, 55% of the population used to live in slums.
[219]
Now, however, a construction boom in both the private and public sector
has led to a dramatic improvement in living standards in major cities,
particularly in Addis Ababa. Notably, government-built condominium
housing complexes have sprung up throughout the city, benefiting close
to 600,000 individuals.
[224]
Sanitation is the most pressing need in the city, with most of the
population lacking access to waste treatment facilities. This
contributes to the spread of illness through unhealthy water.
[219]
Despite the living conditions in the cities, the people of Addis
Ababa are much better off than people living in the peasant associations
owing to their educational opportunities. Unlike rural children, 69% of
urban children are enrolled in primary school, and 35% of those are
eligible to attend secondary school.
[clarification needed][219] Addis Ababa has its own
university as well as many other secondary schools. The literacy rate is 82%.
[219]
Many NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are working to solve this
problem; however, most are far apart, uncoordinated, and working in
isolation.
[221] The Sub-Saharan Africa NGO Consortium is attempting to coordinate efforts.
[221]
Health
The
World Health Organization's 2006 World Health Report gives a figure of 1,936 physicians (for 2003),
[225]
which comes to about 2.6 per 100,000. Globalization is said to affect
the country, with many educated professionals leaving Ethiopia for
better economic opportunities in the West.
Ethiopia's main health problems are said to be communicable
(contagious) diseases worsened by poor sanitation and malnutrition. Over
44 million people (more than half the population) do not have access to
clean water.
[226] These problems are exacerbated by the shortage of trained doctors and nurses and health facilities.
[227]
The state of public health is considerably better in the cities.
Birth rates,
infant mortality rates, and
death rates are lower in cities than in rural areas due to better access to education, medicines, and hospitals.
[219]
Life expectancy is better in cities compared to rural areas, but there
have been significant improvements witnessed throughout the country in
recent years, the average Ethiopian living to be 62.2 years old,
according to a UNDP report.
[228]
Despite sanitation being a problem, use of improved water sources is
also on the rise; 81% in cities compared to 11% in rural areas.
[221]
As in other parts of Africa, there has been a steady migration of
people towards the cities in hopes of better living conditions.
There are 119 hospitals (12 in Addis Ababa alone) and 412 health centers in Ethiopia.
[229] Infant mortality rates are relatively high, as 41 infants die per 1,000 live births.
[230] Ethiopia has been able to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds (one of the
Millennium Development Goals) since 1990
[229] Although this is a dramatic decrease, birth-related complications such as
obstetric fistula affect many of the nation's women.
Community health care workers
The HIV AIDS prevalence rate in Ethiopia stood at 1.1% in 2014, a dramatic decrease from 4.5% 15 years ago
[231]
The most affected are poor communities and women, due to lack of health
education, empowerment, awareness and lack of social well-being. The
government of Ethiopia and many private organizations like World Health
Organization (WHO), and the United Nations, are launching campaigns and
are working aggressively to improve Ethiopia's health conditions and
promote health awareness on AIDS and other communicable diseases
(Dugassa, 2005).
Ethiopia has a relatively high infant and maternal mortality rate.
Although, Ethiopia did not meet the MDG target of reducing maternal
mortality rate by two thirds in 2015, there are improvements
nonetheless. For instance, the contraception prevalence rate increased
from 8.1% in 2000 to 41.8% in 2014, and Antenatal care service coverage
increase from 29% to an astounding 98.1% in the same period. Currently,
the maternal mortality rate stands at 420 per 100,000 live births.
[232]
Only a minority of Ethiopians are born in hospitals, while most are
born in rural households. Those who are expected to give birth at home
have elderly women serve as midwives who assist with the delivery
(Kater, 2000). The "WHO estimates that a majority of maternal fatalities
and disabilities could be prevented if deliveries were to take place at
well-equipped health centers, with adequately trained staff" (Dorman et
al., 2009, p. 622).
An Ethiopian girl about to receive her
measles vaccination
The low availability of health-care professionals with modern medical
training, together with lack of funds for medical services, leads to
the preponderance of less-reliable traditional healers that use
home-based therapies to heal common ailments.
One common cultural practice, irrespective of religion or economic status, is
female genital mutilation
(FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), a procedure that
involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or
other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
[233] The practice has been made illegal in Ethiopia in 2004.
[234] FGM is a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the
Near East that has its ultimate origins in
Ancient Egypt.
[235][236] Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to deter promiscuity and to offer protection from assault.
[237]
The country has a high prevalence of FGM, but prevalence is lower
among young girls. Ethiopia's 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS)
noted that the national prevalence rate is 74% among women ages 15–49.
[238] The practice is almost universal in the regions of
Dire Dawa,
Somali, and
Afar. In the
Oromo and
Harari
regions, more than 80% of girls and women undergo the procedure. FGC is
least prevalent in the regions of Tigray and Gambela, where 29% and 27%
of girls and women, respectively, are affected.
[239]
According to a 2010 study performed by the Population Reference Bureau,
Ethiopia has a prevalence rate of 81% among women ages 35 to 39 and 62%
among women ages 15–19.
[240] A 2014 UNICEF report found that only 24% of girls under 14 had undergone FGM.
[241]
Male
circumcision is also practiced in the country, and about 76% of Ethiopia's male population is reportedly circumcised.
[242]
The Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia is signatory to
various international conventions and treaties that protect the rights
of women and children. Its constitution provides for the fundamental
rights and freedoms for women. There is an attempt being made to raise
the social and economic status of women through eliminating all legal
and customary practices, which hinder women's equal participation in
society and undermine their social status.
Education
Education in Ethiopia was dominated by the Tewahedo Church for many
centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. The
current system follows school expansion schemes which are very similar
to the system in the rural areas during the 1980s, with an addition of
deeper regionalization, providing rural education in students' own
languages starting at the elementary level, and with more budget
finances allocated to the education sector. The sequence of general
education in Ethiopia is six years of primary school, four years of
lower secondary school and two years of higher secondary school.
[243]
Access to education in Ethiopia has improved significantly.
Approximately 3 million people were in primary school in 1994/95, and by
2008/09, primary enrolment had risen to 15.5 million – an increase of
over 500%.
[244] In 2013/14, the country had witnessed significant boost in gross enrolment across all regions.
[245] The national GER was 104.8% for boys, 97.8% for girls and 101.3% across both sexes.
[246]
The literacy rate has increased in recent years: according to the 1994 census, the literacy rate in Ethiopia was 23.4%.
[195] In 2007 it was estimated to be 39% (male 49.1% and female 28.9%).
[247]
A report by UNDP in 2011 showed that the literacy rate in Ethiopia was
46.7%. The same report also indicated that the female literacy rate has
increased from 27 to 39 percent from 2004 to 2011, and the male literacy
rate has increased from 49 to 59 percent over the same period for
persons 10 years and older.
[248] By 2015, the literacy rate had further increased, to 49.1% (57.2% male and 41.1% female).
[249]
Culture
Naming
Ethiopians have a different naming system to the
family name-based Western system. Children add the
given names
of their father and paternal grandfather consecutively to their own
given name. For compatibility purposes, as is done in passports, the
grandfather's given name is taken as a family
surname, and a person's given name and his/her father's given name form the first name.
Everyone is addressed by his/her given name. In official situations, the prefixes
Ato (
አቶ) is used for men;
Weyzero (
ወይዘሮ) for married women; and
Weyzerīt (
ወይዘሪት) for unmarried women.
Calendar
Ethiopia has several local calendars. The most widely known is the
Ethiopian calendar, also known as the Ge'ez calendar. It is based on the older Alexandrian or
Coptic calendar, which in turn derives from the
Egyptian calendar. Like the Coptic calendar, the Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of exactly 30 days each plus five or six
epagomenal
days, which comprise a thirteenth month. The Ethiopian months begin on
the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are in
Ge'ez.
Like the
Julian calendar, the sixth epagomenal day—which in essence is a
leap day—is
added every four years without exception on 29 August of the Julian
calendar, six months before the Julian leap day. Thus, the first day of
the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1901 and 2099
(inclusive), is usually 11 September (
Gregorian),
but falls on 12 September in years before the Gregorian leap year.
Also, a seven- to eight-year gap between the Ethiopian and Gregorian
calendars results from an alternate calculation in determining the date
of the
Annunciation of
Jesus.
Another prominent calendrical system was developed around 300 BC by the
Oromo. A lunar-stellar calendar, this
Oromo calendar
relies on astronomical observations of the moon in conjunction with
seven particular stars or constellations. Oromo months (stars/lunar
phases) are Bittottessa (Iangulum), Camsa (Pleiades), Bufa (Aldebarran),
Waxabajjii (Belletrix), Obora Gudda (Central Orion-Saiph), Obora Dikka
(Sirius), Birra (full moon), Cikawa (gibbous moon), Sadasaa (quarter
moon), Abrasa (large crescent), Ammaji (medium crescent), and Gurrandala
(small crescent).
[250]
Time
Time in Ethiopia
is counted differently from in many Western countries. The Ethiopian
day is reckoned as beginning at 6 AM as opposed to 12 AM, concurrently
with sunrise throughout the year. To convert between the Ethiopian clock
and Western clocks, one must add (or subtract) 6 hours to the Western
time. For example, 2 AM local Addis Ababa time is called "8 at night" in
Ethiopia, while 8 PM is called "2 in the evening".
Cuisine
Typical Ethiopian cuisine:
Injera (pancake-like bread) and several kinds of
wat (stew)
The best-known
Ethiopian cuisine consists of various types of thick
meat stews, known as
wat in Ethiopian culture, and
vegetable side dishes served atop
injera, a large
sourdough flatbread made of
teff
flour. This is not eaten with utensils, but instead one uses the injera
to scoop up the entrées and side dishes. Almost universally in
Ethiopia, it is common to eat from the same dish in the center of the
table with a group of people. It is also a common custom to feed others
in your group with your own hands—a tradition referred to as "
gursha".
[251] Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no
pork or
shellfish of any kind, as they are forbidden in the Christian (
Ethiopian Orthodox), Islamic and Jewish faiths.
Chechebsa,
marqa,
chukko,
michirra and
dhanga are the most popular dishes from the
Oromo.
Kitfo, which originated among the
Gurage, is one of the country's most popular delicacies. In addition,
Doro wot is another popular food, originated from the
Amhara people of northwestern Ethiopia.
[citation needed] Tihlo (ጥሕሎ)—which is a type of
dumpling—is prepared from roasted barley flour. It originated in the
Tigray Region, and is now very popular in
Amhara and spreading further south.
[252]
Media
Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), formerly known as ETV, is the government-owned national channel. Other television stations in the country include
Kana TV.
The most widely circulated newspapers in Ethiopia are
Addis Fortune,
Capital Ethiopia,
Ethiopian Reporter, Addis Zemen
[citation needed] (
Amharic) and
Ethiopian Herald[citation needed].
The sole internet service provider is the national telecommunications firm
Ethio Telecom. A large portion of users in the country access the internet through mobile devices.
[253]
As of July 2016, there are around 4.29 million people who have internet
access at their home as compared to a quarter of a million users a
decade before that.
[254]
The Ethiopian government has at times intentionally shut down internet
service in the country or restricted access to certain social media
sites during periods of political unrest. In August 2016, following
protest and demonstration in the Oromia Region, all access to the
internet was shut down for a period of two days.
[255]
In June 2017, the government shut down access to the internet for
mobile users during a period that coincided with the administration of
the countries university entrance examination. Although the reason for
the restriction was not confirm by the government,
[253] the move was similar to a measure taken during the same period in 2016, after a leak of test questions.
[256][257]
Music
The
music of Ethiopia
is extremely diverse, with each of the country's 80 ethnic groups being
associated with unique sounds. Ethiopian music uses a distinct
modal system that is
pentatonic,
with characteristically long intervals between some notes. As with many
other aspects of Ethiopian culture and tradition, tastes in music and
lyrics are strongly linked with those in neighboring Eritrea, Somalia,
Djibouti, and Sudan.
[258][259] Traditional singing in Ethiopia presents diverse styles of
polyphony (
heterophony,
drone,
imitation, and
counterpoint).
Traditionally, lyricism in Ethiopian song writing is strongly
associated with views of patriotism or national pride, romance,
friendship, and a most unique type of memoire known as 'Tizita'.
Sport
The main sports in Ethiopia are
track and field (particularly
long distance running) and
football (soccer). Ethiopian athletes have won many Olympic gold medals in track and field, most of them in long distance running.
[260] Haile Gebrselassie is a world-renowned long distance runner with several
world records under his belt.
Kenenisa Bekele and
Tirunesh Dibaba are also dominant runners, particularly in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in which they hold the world records.
Other notable Ethiopian athletes are
Abebe Bikila,
Mamo Wolde,
Miruts Yifter,
Derartu Tulu,
Meseret Defar,
Almaz Ayana,
Birhane Adere,
Tiki Gelana,
Genzebe Dibaba,
Tariku Bekele, and
Gelete Burka. As of 2012
going into 2013, the current national Ethiopian football team (Walayia
Antelopes) has made itself history by qualifying for the 2012 African
Cup of Nations (CAF) and more recently by reaching the last 10 African
football teams in the last stage of qualification for the 2014 FIFA
World Cup. Noted players include captain
Adane Girma and top scorer
Saladin Said.
Ethiopia has Sub-Saharan Africa's longest
basketball tradition as it established a
national basketball team in 1949.
[261]
World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia
See also
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