Ethiopia officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces.
The country is a land of natural contrasts, with waterfalls and volcanic hot springs. Ethiopia has some of Africa's highest mountains as well as some of the world's lowest points below sea level. The largest cave in Africa is located in Ethiopia at Sof Omar. Ethiopia has one of the largest number of rivers in the world while the country's northernmost area at Dallol, Afar is the hottest place year-round anywhere on Earth. Ethiopia is a multilingual, multicultural and multiethnic society of around 80 groups, with the two largest being the Oromo and the Amhara, both of which speak Afro-Asiatic languages. The country is also famous for its Olympic gold medalists in running, rock-hewn churches in Lalibela, and as the place where the coffee bean originated. Currently, Ethiopia is the top coffee and honey-producing country in Africa, and home to the largest livestock population in Africa. The Ethiopian Aksum region was the first major empire in the world to convert to Christianity and it was one of the first countries to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in the 4th century..
Ethiopia is the site of the first hijra in Islamic history and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. Until the 1980s, a substantial population of Ethiopian Jews resided in Ethiopia. The country is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari religious movement.
Ethiopia, which has Africa's second biggest hydropower potential,[17] is the source of over 85% of the total Nile water flow and contains rich soils, but it nevertheless underwent a series of famines in the 1980s, exacerbated by adverse geopolitics and civil wars, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands.
Ethnic groups Oromo 34.5% Amhara 26.9% Somali 6.2% Tigray 6.1% Sidama 4.% Gurage 2.5% Welayta 2.3% Hadiya 1.7% Afar 1.7% Gamo 1.5% Gedeo 1.3% Other 11.3%[2]
Ethiopia is divided into nine ethnically based administrative countries (kililoch, sing. kilil) and subdivided into sixty-eight zones and two chartered cities Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa (subdivisions 1 and 5 in the map, respectively). It is further subdivided into 550 woredas and several special woredas.
The nine regions and two chartered cities (in italics) are:
1. Addis Ababa
2. Afar
3. Amhara
4. Benishangul-Gumuz
5. Dire Dawa
6. Gambela
7. Harari
8. Oromia
9. Somali
10. Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region
11. Tigray
Ethiopia was the fastest-growing non-oil-dependent African economy in the years 2007 and 2008. Despite these economic improvements, urban and rural poverty remains an issue in the country.
Historically, Ethiopia's feudal and communist economic structure has always kept it one rainless season away from devastating droughts. Ethiopia has great potential to be a producer, as it is one of the most fertile countries in Africa. According to the New York Times, Ethiopia "could easily become the breadbasket for much of Europe if her agriculture were better organized'
Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Principal crops include coffee, pulses (e.g., beans), oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables. Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is Africa's second biggest maize producer. Ethiopia's livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa, and as of 1987 accounted for about 15 percent of the GDP.
Religion: Muslims are 65% of the population but always the Christian domination under estimate the population of Muslims. There are Protestant, Catholic and Jews too living side by side. Muslims are living in oppression and discrimination from Christian orthodox regime. Although they say that the state has no relation with religion but systematically Christian orthodox dominate the state. Muslims are hardly given the high post.
Also in the schools Muslims are been left aside and Christian get priority in all higher education.
Problems within Muslim communities, since the arrival of wahhabism and salafism Muslims community are divided. Ethiopian Muslims who were proud of their Sufiism and spread Islam from Ethiopia towards other African countries; today they suffer big challenge with wahhabi. All higher post at the Ethiopian Muslim Council or Addis Ababa Muslims council the wahhabi dominate the Muslims. Muslims cannot build a Muslim Mosque or Muslim School without their approval.
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