About Ethiopia

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern part of Africa commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is strategically proximate to the Middle East and Europe, together with its easy access to the major ports of the region, enhances its international trade. It is bordered by the Sudan in the west, Somalia and Djibouti in the east, Eritrea in the north and Kenya in the south.The country covers 1,112,000 square kilometres (472,000 sq. miles) making it roughly as large as France and Spain combined and is five times the size of the UK. Ethiopia is one of the biggest economies of East Africa and Central Africa in terms of GDP, and it is one of the fastest growing economics of the world.

Flag and Emblem of FDRE

The flag of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has three colors which are set horizontally. Green is on the top , yellow in the middle and red at the bottom, and a blue circular background is found on the centre .When the African nations became independent after World War II, many countries adopted the colors of Ethiopian flag.

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.

Official Language

There are more than 83 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia and there are 3 official languages of Ethiopia – Amharic, Oromifa and Tigrigna. English is widely spoken in the country and FDRE has adopted Amharic as the official language. The nine member states have been provided the rights to fix on their working language.

Area

The total area of Ethiopia is 1,112,000 square kilometers and there is great variation in the climate, natural vegetation, soils and settlement patterns. 65% of total area is arable and 15 % is cultivable.

People

Ethiopia is multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural nation where 62.8% of inhabitants are Christians, 33.9% are Muslims, 2.6 % of other faiths and 0.6 % of other religion (as per 2007 census).The constitution guarantees equal religious, political and social rights to its citizens.

Capital City

The capital city of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, and it was founded in 1883 by Emperor Minilik II. It is largest city of Ethiopia having population of 3,384,569 (as per 2007 census).

Official Language

There are more than 83 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia and there are 3 official languages of Ethiopia – Amharic, Oromifa and Tigrigna. English is widely spoken in the country and FDRE has adopted Amharic as the official language. The nine member states have been provided the rights to fix on their working language.