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Ethiopia

geography Maturity 11-13 Vital Level 3 Next article →

Ethiopia is a large country in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia (Africa orthographic projection)
Ethiopia (Africa orthographic projection)

It sits in East Africa and has no ocean shores. This means it is a landlocked country. It shares borders with six other places. To the north is Eritrea and to the northeast is Djibouti. Somalia is to the east and Kenya is to the south. South Sudan is to the west and Sudan is to the northwest.

Africa (orthographic projection)
Africa (orthographic projection)

The country covers a huge area of 1,104,300 square kilometres. The capital city is Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia IMG 5782 Addis Abeba (25052967317)
Ethiopia IMG 5782 Addis Abeba (25052967317)

This city is the largest in the land. It sits near the East African Rift. This is a giant crack that splits the earth into two plates.

This land holds many secrets from a very long time ago. Scientists have found many important fossils here. One famous find was a fossil named Lucy.

Homo Sapiens Idaltu
Homo Sapiens Idaltu

She lived about 3.2 million years ago. Ethiopia is also where modern humans first appeared. Some of these remains are about 200,000 years old. Researchers even found very old stone tools in the mountains.

Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia (51625800835)
Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia (51625800835)

These tools show how early people lived. They even found a stone shelter high in the Bale Mountains. This shows humans lived in high places a long time ago.

Many different kingdoms rose and fell in this region. The Kingdom of D'mt started around 980 BC. Later, the Kingdom of Aksum became a great power. Aksum lasted for about 900 years. Christianity arrived in the kingdom in 330 AD. Islam also came to the area in 615 AD. In 1270, a new group called the Solomonic dynasty began. They claimed they were related to the biblical King Solomon.

Bete Medhane Alem in Lalibela
Bete Medhane Alem in Lalibela

This empire grew very large for many centuries. It faced many wars and changes over time.

Ethiopia has a very busy and modern life today. There are around 135 million people living there. This makes it the 14th-most populous country in the world.

Child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia
Child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia

Most people belong to one of 80 different ethnic groups. Christianity is the most common faith. Islam is also very important to many people. Farming is the biggest part of the economy.

GDP per capita development of Ethiopia
GDP per capita development of Ethiopia

It makes up over 37% of the country's wealth. The country is also growing fast in manufacturing.

Ethiopia plays a big role in the world today. It is a founding member of the United Nations. The headquarters for the African Union is also located there.

ET Addis asv2018-01 img07 Light Rail (cropped2)
ET Addis asv2018-01 img07 Light Rail (cropped2)

This shows how important the country is to Africa. In 2024, it joined a group called BRICS. Even though it faces hard jobs like poverty, it is an emerging power. The country works hard to grow its industries.

Flag of Ethiopia
Flag of Ethiopia

People there continue to build a bright future.

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🖼️ Images & Media (44)
File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg
Flag of Ethiopia.svg
File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
File:Flag of Egypt.svg
Flag of Egypt.svg
File:Flag of Indonesia.svg
Flag of Indonesia.svg
File:Flag of South Africa.svg
Flag of South Africa.svg
File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
File:Child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia.svg
Child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and...
File:GDP per capita development of Ethiopia.svg
GDP per capita development of Ethiopia.svg
File:Flag of Iran.svg
Flag of Iran.svg
File:Africa (orthographic projection).svg
Africa (orthographic projection).svg
File:Emblem of Ethiopia.svg
Emblem of Ethiopia.svg
File:Ethiopia (Africa orthographic projection).svg
Ethiopia (Africa orthographic projection).svg

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