About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located on the horn of Africa, 3⁰-15⁰ N and 33⁰-48⁰ E Longitude. Ethiopia is bounded on the northeast by Eritrea and Djibouti, on the east and southeast by Somalia, on the southwest by Kenya, and on the west and northwest by Sudan.
Ethiopia covers an area of 1,133,380 sq km (437,600 sq mi). The heart of the country is a high tableland, known as the Ethiopian Plateau that covers more than half the total area of the country. The plateau is split diagonally in a northeastern to southwestern direction by the Great Rift Valley.

                                                                                  

Although the average elevation of the plateau is about 1,680 m (about 5,500 ft), it is cut by many rivers and deep valleys, some of which are 600 m (2,000 ft) below the level of the plateau. The area is capped by mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashen (4,620 m/15,157 ft).Ethiopia is one of the Emerging Tourist Destinations in the Horn of Africa,due to Diverse authentic cultures,Festivals,Endemic wilde lives,Land scapes,Important world heritage sites like Lalibela,Semine Mountains national park,Konso and others.In addition the relative peace and the booming economy made Ethiopia to emerge as a now tourist destination.Ethiopia where some one should  book his/her Holiday.Decide to Tour and travel  to Ethiopia now. 
CLIMATE
The climate of Ethiopia varies mainly according to elevation. The tropical zone below approximately 1,800 m (approximately 6,000 ft) has an average annual temperature of about 27°C (about 80°F) and receives less than about 500 mm (about 20 in) of rain annually. The subtropical zone, which includes most of the highland plateau and is between about 1,800 and 2,400 m (about 6,000 and 8,000 ft) in elevation, has an average temperature of about 22°C (about 72°F) with an annual rainfall ranging from about 500 to 1,500 mm (about 20 to 60 in). Above approximately 2,400 m (approximately 8,000 ft) is a temperate zone with an average temperature of about 16°C (about 61°F) and an annual rainfall between about 1,300 and 1,800 mm (about 50 and 70 in). The principal rainy season occurs between mid-June and September, followed by a dry season that may be interrupted in February or March by a short rainy season.

RESOURCES
The resources of Ethiopia are primarily agricultural. The plateau area is fertile and largely undeveloped. The wide range of soils, climate, and elevations permits the production of a diversified range of agricultural commodities. A variety of mineral deposits exist; iron, copper, petroleum, salt, potash, gold, and platinum are the principal ones that have been commercially exploited.

RIVERS
Some scholars call Ethiopia as a “water tower of Africa”. Although the country is not benefited more from its rivers, it possesses many rivers, where most of them flows out to the neighboring countries. For instance: Blue Nile, Wabi Shebele, Tekeze Awash etc...Where Awash is the only river that is included in the inland drainage system of the country and benefits more.

POPULATION
Ethiopia’s population is estimated to be about 74 million as per the census report of ESA, of which 89% of the population is rural and 11% only is living in urban area. In terms of population Ethiopia is the 3rd largest country in Africa next to Egypt & Nigeria.
Ethiopia today is inhibited by 4 Linguistic families: The Semetic, Cushitic, Omotic & Nilotic people. These altogether speaks over 70-80 different languages with over 200 dialects. Amharic is more highly developed than other languages. Thus it is the most widely spoken and the official language of the country. Next Amharic, Oromigna & Tigrigna are widely spoken in the country.

RELEGION
Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in the century. About 40 percent of the people of Ethiopia are Christians, and Christianity is predominant in the north. All the southern regions have Muslim majorities, who represent about 45 percent of the country’s population. The south also contains considerable numbers of animists. A sect known as Beta Israel or Falashas, who practice a type of Judaism that probably dates back to contact with early Arabian Jews.

EDUCATION
There are two types of Education in Ethiopia, TRADITIONAL & MODERN Education. The traditional education is given in churches, Monasteries and Mosque. The modern or the formal education is given from kinder garden to University.
Education has expanded considerably since 1952, when only 4 percent of the adult population was literate. Since then, many schools have been opened, and several teacher-training schools have graduated numerous teachers.

ECONOMY
The economy of Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on the earnings of the Agricultural sector. Thus Agriculture is the back bone of the countries economy where 85% of the population is engaged in the sector. Coffee, Hide and Skin are the major export items. BIRR is the currency of the country.

HISTORY
Evidence indicates that two tool using cultures appeared around 9000BC.During the period there seems to have been no Negroid population at this time. BY 3000BC some clues emerged based on the linguistic distribution analysis which suggested that Proto –Ethiopians of the 3rd millennium BC spoke language derived from Hamito-Semitic or Afro-Asiatic languages. It seems plausible that by the end of the 3rd millennium the main inhabitants were Afro-Mediterranean peoples whose languages formed three branches of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups: Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic. This clarifies the theory that Abyssinia the later Ethiopia came in to existence during the 1st millennium BC.
By the 2nd century AD. the kingdom of Aksum was established. The kingdom was ruled by the Solomonids dynasty, because the kings claimed direct descent from the biblical king Solomon and the queen of Sheba. In the mid-12th century, the Solomonids were overthrown and replaced by the Zagwe dynasty. Regaining control of the country around or after 1260, the Solomonids gradually succeeded in reasserting their authority over much of Ethiopia, although Muslims retained control of the coastal area and the southeast. At this time a political system emerged that lasted until the middle of the 20th century which was characterized by absolutist monarchs.

LANGUAGE
There are four linguistic families in Ethiopia. These are: Semetic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilo-Sharan.These four groups give rise to over 83 different languages of nations and nationalities. The official language of the country is Amharic, Where as the federal states do have their own national languages.

FOOD
Injera is the staple food of the country. It is made from Teff flour.If you Tour and Travel   to Ethiopia You will Enjoy diversity of cultures,History,Wildlife and Land features.