Ethiopia Travel Podcast with Dawit Bekele

Location

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Terrain

High plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

Climate

Tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Elevation

Highest point

Ras Dejen 4,550 m

Lowest point

Danakil Depression -125 m

Mean elevation

1,330 m

Area

Total

1,104,300 sq km

Land

1,096,570 sq km

Water

7,730 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Land borders

Total

5,925 km

Border countries

Djibouti 342 km; Eritrea 1,033 km; Kenya 867 km; Somalia 1,640 km; South Sudan 1,299 km; Sudan 744 km

Natural resources

Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

Land use

Agricultural land

34.1% (2023 est.)

Arable land

14.5% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

1.8% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

17.7% (2023 est.)

Forest

23.7% (2023 est.)

Other

42.2% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts

Volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m) is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir

Note

The most populous landlocked country in the world; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia

Population

Total

121,372,632 (2025 est.)

Male

60,461,406

Female

60,911,226

Nationality

Noun

Ethiopian(s)

Adjective

Ethiopian

Ethnic groups

Oromo 35.8%, Amhara 24.1%, Somali 7.2%, Tigray 5.7%, Sidama 4.1%, Guragie 2.6%, Welaita 2.3%, Afar 2.2%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 13.5% (2022 est.)

Languages

Languages

Oromo (official regional working language) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official regional working language) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official regional working language) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official regional working language) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (2007 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

Kitaaba Addunyaa Waan Qabataamaatiif - Kan Madda Odeeffannoo bu’uraawaatiif baay’ee barbaachisaa ta’e. (Oromo)

Religions

Ethiopian Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 0.8% (2016 est.)

Median age

Total

20.6 years (2025 est.)

Male

20.2 years

Female

20.7 years

Life expectancy

Total population

67.7 years (2024 est.)

Male

65.4 years

Female

70 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

23.2% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

4.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

Highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated, as shown in this population distribution map

Largest cities

5.461 million ADDIS ABABA (capital) (2023)

Background

The area that is modern-day Ethiopia is rich in cultural and religious diversity with more than 80 ethnic groups. The oldest hominid yet found comes from Ethiopia, and Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity in the 4th century A.D. A series of monarchies ruled the area that is now Ethiopia from 980 B.C. to 1855, when the Amhara kingdoms of northern Ethiopia united in an empire under Tewodros II. Many Ethiopians still speak reverently about the Battle of Adwa in 1896, when they defeated Italian forces and won their freedom from colonial rule.

Emperor Haile SELASSIE became an internationally renowned figure in 1935, when he unsuccessfully appealed to the League of Nations to prevent Italy from occupying Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. SELASSIE survived an attempted coup in 1960, annexed modern-day Eritrea in 1962, and played a leading role in establishing the Organization of African Unity in 1963. However, in 1974, a military junta called the Derg deposed him and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, drought, and massive displacement, the Derg regime was toppled in 1991 by a coalition of opposing forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The EPRDF became an ethno-federalist political coalition that ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until its dissolution in 2019. Ethiopia adopted its constitution in 1994 and held its first multiparty elections in 1995.

A two-and-a-half-year border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in 2000. Ethiopia subsequently rejected the 2007 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission demarcation. This resulted in more than a decade of a tense “no peace, no war” stalemate between the two countries. In 2012, longtime Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. Following a wave of popular dissent and anti-government protest that began in 2015, HAILEMARIAM resigned in 2018, and ABIY Ahmed Ali took office the same year as Ethiopia's first ethnic Oromo prime minister. In 2018, ABIY promoted a rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea that was marked with a peace agreement and a reopening of their shared border. In 2019, Ethiopia's nearly 30-year ethnic-based ruling coalition, the EPRDF, merged into a single unity party called the Prosperity Party; however, the lead coalition party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), declined to join. In 2020, a military conflict erupted between forces aligned with the TPLF and the Ethiopian military. The conflict -- which was marked by atrocities committed by all parties -- ended in 2022 with a cessation of hostilities agreement between the TPLF and the Ethiopian Government. However, Ethiopia continues to experience ethnic-based violence as other groups -- including the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and Amhara militia Fano -- seek concessions from the Ethiopian Government.

Government

Federal parliamentary republic

Capital

Addis Ababa

Time zone

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

YeItyop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik

Independence

Oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world, at least 2,000 years; may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which appeared in the first century B.C.

National day

Derg Downfall Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

Overview

Low-income, fast-growing Horn of Africa economy; widespread poverty and food insecurity worsened by conflict and environmental factors; landlocked with tensions over seaport access; development aid supporting reforms to boost private-sector growth and financial stability; challenge of creating jobs for growing labor force

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$2,900 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$2,800 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$2,700 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

21% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

30.2% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

33.9% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

3.4% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

3.5% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

3.5% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Birr (ETB) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2023

54.601 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

51.756 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

43.734 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

34.927 (2020 est.)

Exchange rates 2019

29.07 (2019 est.)

Main industries

Food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, garments, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Agriculture

Maize, cereals, wheat, milk, sorghum, barley, taro, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes (2023)

Airports

58 (2025)

Railways

Total

659 km (2017) (Ethiopian segment of the 756 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)

Standard gauge

659 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge

Internet domain

.et

Internet users

Percent of population 17% (2021 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

85.9 million (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

65 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

Deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; loss of biodiversity; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management; industrial pollution and pesticides contribute to air, water, and soil pollution

Fresh water

122 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)