| Highlight of Ethiopia |
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Land: Ethiopia covers an area of 1104300km2, making it the tenth largest country in Africa, for the sake of comparison, Ethiopia covers approximately twice the area of Kenya or the state of Texas and five times the area of the united kingdom or new Zealand, of other African countries, it is closest in size to south Africa, roughly 7500km2 of Ethiopia’s surface area is water. Out of 65 percent arable land, only 15 percent is presently cultivated. The unique Ethiopian plateau, covers above half of the total area is cut by The Great East
Capital city: The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, which lies at the heart of the country in the central highlands at an altitude of 2300m. It is the third highest capital city in the world. Population: currently Ethiopia’s population is estimated to be closer to 77 million. This is, rather surprisingly, the third highest population of any country in Africa, exceeded only by Egypt and Nigeria. The major ethnic /linguistic groups are the Oromo (40%), Amhara (22%) Tigrai (10%), Sidama (9%) and Somali (6%). The population growth rate stands at roughly 2.75% per annum. The average life expectancy has dropped from 47 to 45 in recent years, primarily due to AIDS-related deaths - roughly 2.5 million Ethiopians are estimated to be HIV positive. The birth rate is 45 per 1000 people, with an infant mortality rate of 10% Adult literacy stands at 35%. Government: before the 1974 revolution Ethiopia was an empire headed by a monarch, emperor Hailesilasie. The revolution ousted the monarchy and replaced a republic under Colonel Mengistu which ruled the country till 1991. Two rebel movements from Tigrai and Eritrea ousted Mengistu regime and replaced by a transitional government under Meles Zenawi The Ethiopian economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest nations. In the late 1980s, the per capita income was US$120 per annum, and it is unlikely to have increased since that time The Ethiopian Highlands are very fertile, and are criss-crossed by large rivers with enormous untapped potential for irrigation projects, but many parts of the country, particularly in the east and northeast, are prone to periodic rain failures and locust plagues, so there is a constant threat of local famine. The growing of coffee occupies 25% of the population and coffee accounts for 55% of Ethiopia’s exports. The main crop grown for local consumption is Teff the grain used to make injera (a kind of pancake widely available throughout the country).
Climate: Ethiopia shows a wide climatic variation, ranging from the peaks of Bale, which receive periodic snowfall, to regular daytime temperatures of over 50oC in the Danakil Desert. As a rule, the central highlands have a temperate climate and average daytime temperature of 16o C, belying their proximity to the equator. The eastern lowlands and the far sough are dry and hot. The western lowlands are moist and hot, making them the one part of the country that feels truly tropical. The southern Rift Valley, much of which lies at the relatively high altitude of 1500m, is temperate to hot and seasonally moist. The precipitation pattern in the northern and central highlands is that the bulk of the rain falls between mid June and early October. This pattern changes as you head further south: the rainy season in the Rift Valley generally starts and ends a few weeks earlier than in the highlands, while in south Omo of the rain falls in March, April and May, and other parts of the south have two rainy seasons, falling either side of the highland’s rainy season from July to September. Contrary to popular perceptions, most highland parts of Ethiopia receive a healthy average annual rainfall figure, with the far west being particularly moist – indeed much of the southwest receives an average annual rainfall in excess of 2000mm. Natural Resource and Economy: The major natural resource and backbone of Ethiopian economy is Agriculture. The multi weather condition permits production of various agricultural products. Iron, copper, petroleum, salt, potash, gold and platinum also contribute a lot to the economy. Flora and Fauna The great variation in elevation enables Ethiopia to be a paradise of every African vegetation like Savanna grasses and Afro-alpine vegetations which inhabits wild life such as Giraffe, Leopard, Hippopotamus, Lion, Elephant, antelope and Rhinoceros. Caracal, Jackal, Hyena, and various species of monkey are common. Ethiopia is also a home of more than 800 Bird species including the 21 endemic. Language: Ethiopia is a museum of diverse peoples speaking multiplicities of language. There are about 70 languages spoken in the country falling in Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic or Nilotic language groups. Amharic, the national language of the country, is one of the most important Semitic languages. Other Semitic g groups include Tigrigna, Geez, and Gurage Adaregna. The most significant of the Cushitic group is oromigna, Somali, Afar, Sidama etc. Omotic speakers mainly live around the Omo valley and the Nilotic group on the western parts of the country. Religion: The main Religions in Ethiopia are Christianity and Islam. It is difficult to find reliable figures for the relative distribution and proportion of Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia. It is assumed that 40-50% of Ethiopia is Muslims. The majority of Ethiopian Christians belong to Ethiopian Orthodox church which is the national religion of the country. Calendar and Time: Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar in which a year is divided in to 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th months of five days ( the slogan 13 months of sunshine). The 13th month becomes 6 days once in every four year the leap year. Ethiopia is in the GMT+3 hours time zone. We have 12 hours day and 12 hours night time. |
