Ethiopia - ēthēōˈpēə, officially Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, republic (1995 est. pop. 55,979,000), 471,776 sq mi (1,221,900 sq km), NE Africa. It borders on Eritrea in the north, on Djibouti in the northeast, on Somalia in the east and southeast, on Kenya in the south, and on Sudan in the west.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city. The country is divided into nine ethnically based regions and the capital.
Land and People Ethiopia falls into four main geographic regions from west to east—the Ethiopian Plateau, the Great Rift Valley, the Somali Plateau, and the Ogaden Plateau. The Ethiopian Plateau, which is fringed in the west by the Sudan lowlands (made up of savanna and forests), includes more than half the country. It is generally 5,000 to 6,000 ft (1,524–1,829 m) high but reaches much loftier heights, including Ras Dashen (15,158 ft/4,620 m), the highest point in Ethiopia. The plateau slopes gently from east to west and is cut by numerous deep valleys. The Blue Nile River (in Ethiopia called the Abbai or Abbay) flows through the center of the plateau from its source, Lake Tana, Ethiopia's largest lake. The Great Rift Valley (which in its entirety runs from SW Asia to E central Africa) traverses the country from northeast to southwest and contains the Danakil Desert in the north and several large lakes in the south. The Somali Plateau is generally not as high as the Ethiopian Plateau, but in the Mendebo Mts. it attains heights of more than 14,000 ft (4,267 m). The Awash, Ethiopia's only navigable river, drains the central part of the plateau. The Ogaden Plateau (1,500–3,000 ft/457–914 m high) is mostly desert but includes the Webe Shebele, Genale (Jubba), and Dawa rivers. Ethiopia's population is mainly rural, with most living in highlands above 5,900 ft (1,800 m). Almost half the people are Muslim, while over a third belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; about 15% practice traditional religions. There are a great number of distinct ethnic groups in Ethiopia. The Amhara and Tigrean, who together make up about 33% of the people, live mostly in the central and N Ethiopian Plateau; they are Christian and hold most of the higher positions in the government. The
Oromo, who make up about 40% of the country's population, live in S Ethiopia and are predominantly Muslim. The pastoral Somali, who are also Muslim, live in E and SE Ethiopia. Until the 1980s a small group of Jews, known as Beta Israel or
Falashas, lived north of Lake Tana in Gondar. In the midst of famine and political instability, 10,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted (1984–85) to Israel, and another 14,000 were airlifted out in 1991. By the end of 1999 virtually all the Falashas who were practicing Jews had had been flown to Israel. Amharic is the country's official language, but a great many other languages are spoken, including Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, and Arabic. A substantial number of Ethiopians speak English, which is commonly taught in school. Educational facilities in the nation are very limited, however, and in the late 1990s adult literacy was estimated at just over 35%. Economy Ethiopia is an extremely poor and overwhelmingly agricultural country, with farm products accounting for over half of the country's gross domestic product and 90% of its exports (mainly coffee). Economically, the great majority of the population is engaged in subsistence farming. The chief farm products are coffee, teff and other millets, sorghum, barley, wheat, corn, plantains, peas, potatoes, oilseeds, cotton, and sugarcane. Large numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats are raised. Because of its degraded lands, poor cultivation practices, and frequent periods of drought, Ethiopia is chronically unable to feed its population and has to rely on massive food imports. Industry, which is largely state-run, is mostly restricted to agricultural processing and the manufacture of consumer goods. The main industrial centers are Addis Ababa,
Dire Dawa, and Nazret. The leading manufactures include processed food, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metal products, and cement. No large-scale mineral deposits have been found in Ethiopia; gold, platinum, salt, limestone, iron ore, and sulfur are extracted in small quantities. Foreign investment in the mining sector began in the 1990s. Ethiopia has a poor transportation network, with few year-round roads. The country's one rail line links Addis Ababa and Djibouti; plans for its revitalization were announced in 1998. The chief ports serving Ethiopia, which became landlocked with Eritrean independence, are in other countries:
Djibouti, in the country of Djibouti, and
Aseb and
Massawa, in Eritrea. The annual value of imports into Ethiopia is usually considerably higher than the value of its exports. The principal imports are food, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, and manufactured consumer goods; the main exports are coffee, hides and skins, oilseeds, grain, and gold. The leading trade partners are Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Japan. Government Ethiopia is governed under the constitution of 1994, which provides for a president as chief of state and a prime minister as head of government. The bicameral parliament consists of the 117-seat Council of the Federation, which represents the ethnic interests of the regional governments, and the 548-seat Council of People's Representatives, whose members are popularly elected and who in turn elect the president. The prime minister is designated by the party in power following legislative elections. History Early History Cushitic language speakers are believed to have been the original inhabitants of Ethiopia. They were driven out of the region by the Cushites in the 2d millennium b.c. The Cushites founded a new civilization which probably traded with the Egyptians, according to ancient Egyptian texts. The Egyptian name for Ethiopians was Habashat, which is the probable origin of the name Abyssinia. According to tradition, the Ethiopian kingdom was founded (10th cent. b.c.) by Solomon's first son, Menelik I, whom the queen of Sheba is supposed to have borne. However, the first kingdom for which there is documentary evidence is that of
Aksum (Axum), a kingdom which probably emerged in the 2d cent. a.d., thus making Ethiopia the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the most ancient in the world. Immigrants (mainly traders) from S Arabia who had been settling in N Ethiopia since about 500 b.c. influenced the economy and culture of Ethiopia. Aksum controlled much of the Red Sea coast and had links with the Mediterranean world. Under King Ezana, Aksum was converted (4th cent.) to Christianity by Frumentius of Tyre. Closely tied to the Egyptian Coptic Church, the established Ethiopian church accepted
Monophysitism following the Council of Chalcedon (451). In the 6th cent., Jewish influence penetrated Aksum, and some Ethiopians were converted to Judaism. With the rise of Islam in the 7th cent. Aksum declined, mainly because its land contacts with the Byzantine Empire were severed and its control of the Red Sea trade routes was ended. Thereafter, the focus of Aksum was directed inward toward the center of the Ethiopian Plateau (mainly the regions of Amhara and Shoa), and it was largely cut off from the outside world. Aksum soon lost its cohesion, and Ethiopia lapsed into a period of competition among small political units. In 1530–31, Ahmad Gran, a Muslim Somali leader, conquered much of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian emperor Lebna Dengel (reigned 1508–40) appealed to Portugal for help against the Somalis (a Portuguese embassy had reached the Ethiopian court in 1520). The Somali war exhausted Ethiopia, ending a period of cultural revival and exposing the empire to incursions by the Oromo. For the next two centuries the Ethiopian kingdom, centered at
Gondar near Lake Tana, was beset by ruinous civil wars among princes (especially those of Tigray and Amhara), was menaced by the Oromo, and was again isolated from the outside world. Nineteenth-Century Ethiopia The reunification of Ethiopia was begun in the 19th cent. by Kasa (Lij Kasa; c.1818–68), who conquered Amhara, Gojjam, Tigray, and Shoa, and in 1855 had himself crowned emperor as
Tewodros II (Theodore II). He began to modernize and centralize the legal and administrative systems, despite the opposition of local governors. Tensions developed with Great Britain, and Tewodros imprisoned (1867) several Britons, including the British consul. A British military expedition under Robert (later Lord)
Napier was sent out, and the emperor's forces were easily defeated near
Magdala (now Amba Mariam) in 1868. To avoid capture, Tewodros committed suicide. A brief civil war followed, and in 1872 a chieftain of Tigray became emperor as John (Yohannes) IV. John's attempts to further centralize the government led to revolts by local leaders; in addition, his regime was threatened during 1875–76 by Egyptian incursions and, after 1881, by raids by followers of the
Mahdi in Sudan. The opening (1869) of the Suez Canal increased the strategic importance of Ethiopia, and several European powers (particularly Italy, France, and Great Britain) sought influence in the area. In 1889, John was killed fighting the Mahdists, and, following a short succession crisis, the king of Shoa (who had Italian support) was crowned emperor as
Menelik II. Menelik signed (1889) a treaty of friendship and cooperation with Italy at Wuchale. Due to a dispute over the meaning of the treaty (Italy claimed it had been given a protectorate over Ethiopia, which Menelik denied), Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1895 but was decisively defeated by Menelik's forces at
Adwa on Mar. 1, 1896. By the subsequent Treaty of Addis Ababa (Oct., 1896), the Treaty of Wuchale was annulled, and Italy recognized the independence of Ethiopia while |
