Ethiopia
Addis Ababa · East Africa
Ethiopia is a country in Africa. Its capital city is Addis Ababa, the official currency is the Birr, and the main language is Amharic.
With a population of roughly 126.5 million people spread over 1,104,300 km², Ethiopia is the 11th most populous country in the world and the 26th largest by area. That works out at about 115 people per square kilometre.
Ethiopia shares land borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan — 6 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Mekelle. The highest point in the country is Ras Dashen, at 4,550 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Bolivia, while its population is closest to that of Mexico.
- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Region
- East Africa
- Population
- 126,500,000
- Area
- 1,104,300 km²
- Currency
- Birr
- Main language
- Amharic
- Highest point
- Ras Dashen
4,550 m - Land borders
- 6
Ethiopia: things worth knowing
- Ethiopia was never colonised, apart from a brief Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941.
- It uses its own calendar with thirteen months and runs roughly seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one.
- Coffee originates here, and the Ethiopian highlands remain a centre of arabica cultivation.
Ethiopia in context
Africa has 54 sovereign countries in total. Ethiopia ranks 2nd among them by population.
See the full list of Africa countries, or browse all 195 countries.