About Ethiopia

Ethiopian Flag


Ethiopia is a magnificent ancient land with a host of modern problems. Deforestation, drought, and soil degradation have caused crop failures and famine during the past few decades. It has been a period of great turmoil. Seven million people face starvation. Forty percent of rural households do not produce enough food or income to meet their basic nutritional needs.

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II.

Africa’s 10th largest country, Ethiopia lies in the northeast region known as the Horn of Africa, just north of the Equator. It spreads across more than 1.2 million sq. km of savannah, desert and mountain highlands. Addis Ababa is the Ethiopian capital.

Axum is the oldest city founded around the second century BC. This ancient settlement is frequently referred to as “the sacred city of the Ethiopians”. It is a site of many remarkable monuments attesting to the great antiquity of religious expression in Ethiopia. Theory has it that Axum is the last resting place of the Ark of the Covenant which is considered the most precious and the most sacred object of Old Testament times. The most famous Ethiopian river is the Blue Nile which runs a distance of 1,450 km. Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley is the only geological feature of the world visible from the Moon.

Ethiopia is home to a rich cultural mosaic due to its 80 different languages and nearly 200 dialects. Amharic is the official language. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools. The cultures and customs of Ethiopia are as colorful and varied as its many landscapes.


Ethiopia along with Liberia, was one of two places in Africa which was never colonized by European powers despite colonial interests and designs on Ethiopia in the “Scramble for Africa”. The first wild coffee beans were taken from the province of Kaffa in Ethiopia to Arabia more than 500 years ago.


Ethiopia has 4.6 million orphans, one of the largest numbers of orphans in the world, and of these, 1.2 million are AIDS orphans. Malaria remains as one of the major causes of morbidity and contributes to 47% of children’s deaths. The generally poor health of Ethiopians as a result of drought, malnutrition, limited healthcare, and other infectious diseases has caused HIV to progress rapidly to AIDS.

The word Ethiopia appears in the King James Bible version 45 times. When the word Ethiopia is used in the bible, it most of the time refers to all the land south of Egypt. Sheba is believed to have been Queen of Ethiopia and it is through her, Ethiopian rulers claim royalty.