Ethiopia Basic Facts

Ethiopia:

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the second-oldest official Christian nation in the world after Armenia. Unique among African countries, Ethiopian maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41.

Ethiopia is in the northeast African region known as the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa (after Nigeria), bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and Sudan and South Sudan to the west.

 

Geography:

With a total area of 1,104,300 sq km, Ethiopia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, USA (or as large as France and Spain combined). The country has a high central plateau, with some mountains reaching more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). The Great Rift Valley splits the plateau diagonally. The western highlands get summer rainfall; the lowlands and eastern highlands are hot and dry.

The climate can be described as tropical monsoon but it varies greatly depending on the topography. Ethiopia'slowest point is at the Denakil Depression, -125 m (-410 feet) below sea level; the highest point is Ras Dashen standing at 4,553 meter (14,938 feet). Ethiopia's entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993. The Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, starts at Lake Tana in northwest Ethiopia. Three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and the castor bean.

Geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts. Volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (elev. 613 meter), which has caused frequent lava flows in recent years, is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, causing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir.

 

Climate:

The predominant climate type is tropical monsoon, with wide topographic-induced variation. As a highland country, Ethiopia has 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 metres (6,600 - 8,200 ft) above sea level, including historic capitals such as Gondar and Axum, and Addis Ababa - the highest capital city in Africa at 2,400 meters (8,000 feet).

Ethiopia has three different climate zones according to elevation:

• Kolla (Tropical zone) - is below 1830 meters in elevation and has an average annual temperature of about 27 degree Celsius with annual rainfall about 510 millimeters. The Danakil Depression (Danakil Desert) is about 125 meters below sea level and the hottest region in Ethiopia where the temperature climbs up to 50 degree Celsius.
• Woina dega (Subtropical zone) - includes the highlands areas of 1830 - 2440 meters in elevation has an average annual temperature of about 22 degree Celsius with annual rainfall between 510 and 1530 millimeters.
• Dega (Cool zone) - is above 2440 meters in elevation with an average annual temperature of about 16 degree Celsius with annual rainfall between 1270 and 1280 millimeters.

The average annual temperature in Addis Ababa is 16°C (61°F), with daily maximum temperatures averaging 20 - 25°C (68 - 77°F) throughout the year, and overnight lows averaging 5 - 10°C (41 - 50°F). A light jacket is recommended for the evenings, though many Ethiopians prefer to dress conservatively and will wear a light jacket even during the day.

 

Ethiopian Seasons

• Kiremt or Meher (summer) - June, July and August are the summer season. Heavy rain falls in these three months.
• Tseday (spring) - September, October and November are the spring season sometime known as the harvest season.
• Bega (winter) - December, January and February are the dry season with frost in morning especially in January.
• Belg (Autumn) - March, April and May are the autumn season with occasional showers. May is the hottest month in Ethiopia.

 

People and Society:

Population: 118 million (2021 est.), the second most populous country in Africa and the 13th in the world.

Religions: Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 1% (2016 est)

Ethnic groups: Oromo 34.9%, Amhara (Amara) 27.9%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 7.3%, Sidama 4.1%, Welaita 3%, Gurage 2.8%, Somali (Somalie) 2.7%, Hadiya 2.2%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, Afar (Affar) 0.6%, other 9.2% (2016 est.)

Languages: Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia, although English, Italian, French, and Arabic are widely spoken. In areas outside of the larger cities and towns, indigenous languages are likely to be spoken — of which there are eighty-three, with some 200 dialects. The most common of these are Orominya and Tigrinya.

Oromigna (official regional) 33.8%, Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 29.3%, Somaligna 6.2%, Tigrigna (official regional) 5.9%, Sidamigna 4%, Wolayitigna 2.2%, Guaragigna 2%, Affarigna 1.7%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, Gamogna 1.5%, Gedeogna 1.3%, Kafagna 1.1%, other 9.3%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (2007 est).

 

Historical and Most Visited Cities:

• Addis Ababa – capital of Ethiopia and one of the biggest shopping cities in Africa.
• Adama – a popular weekend destination near Addis; also known as Nazret or Nazareth.
• Aksum or Axum – home of ancient tombs and stelae fields, in the far north near Eritrea.
• Bahir Dar – the monasteries on the islands of Lake Tana and close to the beautiful Blue Nile Falls.
• Dire Dawa – the second largest city.
• Gondar - the ancient capital of Ethiopia and home to the country's emperors during the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Harar – ancient walled city near Dire Dawa
• Lalibela – home to 11 astonishing rock-hewn churches.
• Mekele – a town in the Tigrayan Highlands in the north.

Largest cities :

The following are the top largest cities in the country based on the 2017 population estimate.The city, region and population number are listed.

1. Addis Ababa (Adis Ababa), Addis Ababa : 4,794,000 (2020 est)
2. Gondar (Gonder ), Amhara : 360,600
3. Mekele, Tigray : 358,529
4. Adama (Nazret), Oromia : 355,475
5. Awasa (Hawassa), SNNPR : 335,508
6. Bahir Dar, Amhara : 313,997
7. Dire Dawa (Dire Dewa) : 293,000
8. Dessie (Desie), Amhara : 209,226
9. Jimma (Jima ), Oromia : 195,228
10. Jijiga, Somalia : 169,390

Time and calendar:

Ethiopia uses the Ethiopian calendar, which dates back to the Coptic calendar 25 BC, and never adopted the Julian or Gregorian reforms. One Ethiopian year consists of twelve months, each lasting thirty days, plus a thirteenth month of five or six days (hence the "Thirteen Months of Sunshine" tourism slogan). The Ethiopian new year begins on September 10 or 11 (in the Gregorian calendar), and has accumulated 7-8 years lag behind the Gregorian calendar: thus, for the first nine months of 2018, the year will be 2010 according to the Ethiopian calendar. On 11 September 2018, Ethiopia celebrated New Year's Day (Enkutatesh) for 2011.

In Ethiopia, the 12-hour clock cycles do not begin at midnight and noon, but instead are offset six hours. Thus, Ethiopians refer to midnight (or noon) as 6 o'clock.

Daylight: Being relatively close to the Equator, there is an almost constant twelve hours of daylight. In Addis Ababa, the sunrise and sunset starts at around 06:30 and 18:45 respectively

Ethiopia Public Holidays- 2014 Ethiopia Calendar (2021/2022)

Date	Holiday Name
11-Sep	Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year)
27-Sep	Meskel (Finding of the True Cross)
7-Jan	Ethiopian Christmas (Genna)
19-Jan	Epiphany (Timiket)
1-Mar	Adwa Victory Day
22-Apr	Ethiopian Good Friday (Siklet)
24-Apr	Ethiopian Easter Sunday (Fasika)
1-May	International Labor Day (May Day)
5-May	Patriots' Day
28-May	Derg Downfall Day (National Day)

Other public holidays include the following Muslim holidays which are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and therefore the dates changes from year to year.

• October 7 : Mawlid al-Nabi (Birth of the Prophet)
• May 2 : Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
• July 9 : Eid-al Adha (Arafat)

Currency:

The local currency is the Ethiopian birr, made up of 100 cents. Notes are issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 200 birr. There are five different coins: 1,5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 cents.

Currency regulations:There is no limit to the amount of foreign currency imported into Ethiopia, but it must be declared on arrival, using a currency declaration form. Foreign currency may be changed only at authorized banks and hotels. The currency declaration form will be required by Customs on departure. Visitors may change back any excess birr into foreign currency at the airport before departure, but you must, in addition to the currency declaration form, bring with you all receipts for exchange transactions.

Traveler Visa:

All visitors, except Kenya and Djibouti nationals, are required to obtain entry visas. Since 2002, tourists from 33 countries (listed below) are able to obtain entry visas upon their arrival at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, and at the airport in Dire Dawa. As of September 2020, the fees for visa-upon-arrival is US$52 for 30 days Tourist Visa and  US$72 for 90 days Tourist Visa. The procedure is relatively quick and painless; just look for a door with a sign "Visa" on the left hand before the immigration counters. Please check the latest visa fee structure before your departure from the official government website - Ethiopian Immigration Nationality and Vital Events Agency.

Nationals of the following countries can get upto three months tourist visas upon their arrival at Bole Internaltional Airport: all African Union member states, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand United Kingdom, United States. Kenya and Djibouti nationals are exempted - allowed to enter without visa.

Travelers are advised to check latest travel policy and additional information from Ethiopia Embassy websites. Click here for Embassy of Ethiopia at Washington DC.

 

Electricity:

Ethiopia uses 220 volts and 50 Hz. It is best to bring your own round, two-prong adapter and transformer if necessary.