Population: 83.1 million (UN, 2007)

Capital City: Addis Ababa
Founded in 1887, Addis Ababa is the commercial and political capital of Ethiopia. It is officially home to over
four million people (demographic population estimations; eight million people). Addis Ababa is the largest
city in the country and it is also the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. It hosts numerous embassies,
dignitaries, and regional, international, and non-governmental organizations, such as the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The city lies on the central plateau at an
altitude of 2,400m, 9 degrees north of the equator. Its average temperature is 16 degrees Celsius.

Ethiopia's other important cities:
Awassa, Dessie, Bahir Dar, Debre Markos, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Harar, Jimma, Mekele, Nazareth, Nekemte.
All these towns are connected to Addis Ababa by asphalt and gravel roads as well as by air.

Topography
The Ethiopian topography is best expressed as a complex blend of massive highlands, highly rugged terrain,
and tremendous gorges and canyons. The country is divided by the Great Rift Valley running from southwest
to northeast it concist of desert, semi-desert and savannah. The great topographical diversity is the cause
of wide  climate, soil and vegetation variations as well as settlement patterns.
The highest point in Ethiopia is Ras Dashen at 4,620m (15,157ft) and the lowest point is Dalol in the Denakil
desert at 125m (410ft) below sea level.

Climate
Due to the topography Ethiopia has an extremely varied climate,  from cool to very cold in the highlands to
one of the hottest places on earth at the Dalol Depression in the Danakil Desert.

 Major languages
There are more than 80 spoken languages
Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%,
Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4%
English is the major foreign language taught in schools.

Major religions
Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%),
Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 46% (male 18,922,334/female 19,017,593)
15-64 years: 51.4% (male 20,749,002/female 21,656,509)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 947,323/female 1,252,077)
(2008 est.)

Life expectancy
52 years (men), 54 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit
1 Birr = 100 cents  online currency converter

Main exports
Coffee, hides, oilseeds, beeswax, sugarcane

GNI per capita
US $220 (World Bank, 2007)

Calendar
Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth
month of five days, six days in a leap year. (Hence, the popular Ethiopian Tourism Commission slogan
"Thirteen Months of Sunshine!"). The calendar is about eight years behind the Western (Gregorian) calendar.
The Ethiopian New Year begins on the first day of the month of Meskerem, which falls on September 11th on
the Gregorian calendar.

(You may have some serious explaining to do when your accountant tries to figure out your receipts on your return).

Time

The clock is upside down

Ethiopia is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The 12-hour clock is sometimes used locally
and this can be confusing to visitors.

"When we say 1 O'clock the Ethipoians say 7  O'clock"!

The first cycle starts with "one" at 7 A.M. and goes on to "twelve" at 6 P.M.
The second cycle starts at 7 P.M. with "one" and goes on to 6 A.M. at "twelve."