Overview

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. The third-most populous African nation, Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, and the only African nation to have enjoyed continuous sovereignty throughout and beyond the Scramble for Africa. Often regarded as the "Cradle of Humanity" for the peerlessly ancient traces of humanity unearthed there, Ethiopia is also the second oldest Christian nation having maintained its Christian character since the 4th century AD.

Historically an intersection of African and Middle Eastern civilizations, Ethiopia has more recently become a crossroads of global international cooperation: it was a charter member of the League of Nations in 1923 and the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa, was one of the 51 original members of the United Nations, and is currently the headquarters for and the main founder of the former Organization of African Unity and current African Union.

Sources:
The World Bank
BBC News

Short History

In the first part of the 20th century Ethiopia forged strong links with Britain, whose troops helped evict the Italians in 1941 and put Emperor Haile Selassie back on his throne. From the 1960s British influence gave way to that of the US, which in turn was supplanted by the Soviet Union. Although largely free from the coups that have plagued other African countries, Ethiopia's turmoil has been no less devastating.

Drought, famine, war and ill-conceived policies brought millions to the brink of starvation in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1974 this helped topple Haile Selassie. His regime was replaced by a self-proclaimed Marxist junta led by Mengistu Haile Mariam under which many thousands of opponents were purged or killed, property was confiscated and defense spending spiraled. The overthrow of the junta in 1991 saw political and economic conditions stabilize, but not enough to restore investors' confidence.

Eritrea gained independence in 1993 following a referendum. Poor border demarcation developed into military conflict and full-scale war in the late 1990s in which tens of thousands of people were killed. A fragile truce has held, but the UN says ongoing disputes over the demarcation of the border threaten peace. Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states. Its people are almost two-thirds illiterate. The economy revolves around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall. The country is one of Africa's leading coffee producers. Many Ethiopians depend on food aid from abroad. In 2004 the government began a drive to move more than two million people away from the arid highlands of the east in an attempt to provide a lasting solution to food shortages.

Sources:
Wikipedia
The World Bank
BBC News

Economy

The economy of Ethiopia is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of gross domestic product (GDP), 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The major agricultural export crop is coffee, providing about 65% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy, and Ethiopia earned $259 million in 1999 by exporting 105,000 metric tons. More than 25% of the population derives its livelihood from the coffee sector. Other exports include live animals, hides, gold, pulses, oilseeds, and khat (or qat), a leafy shrub which has psychotropic qualities when chewed.

Ethiopia's agriculture is plagued by periodic drought, soil degradation caused by overgrazing, deforestation, high population density, high levels of taxation and poor infrastructure. Yet agriculture is the country's most promising resource. A potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock, grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Gold, marble, limestone, and small amounts of tantalum are mined in Ethiopia. Other resources with potential for commercial development include large potash deposits, natural gas, iron ore, and possibly petroleum and geothermal energy. Although Ethiopia has good hydroelectric resources, which power most of its manufacturing sector, it is totally dependent on imports for its oil. Prior to the outbreak of the 1998-2000 Ethiopian-Eritrean war, landlocked Ethiopia mainly relied on the seaports of Asseb and Massawa in Eritrea for international trade.

Ethiopia currently uses the ports of Djibouti, connected to Addis Ababa by rail, and to a lesser extent, Port Sudan in Sudan. Mountainous terrain and the lack of good roads and sufficient vehicles make land transportation difficult. However, the government-owned airline is excellent. Ethiopian Airlines serves 38 domestic airfields and has 42 international destinations. Dependent on a few vulnerable crops for its foreign exchange earnings and reliant on imported oil, Ethiopia lacks sufficient foreign exchange

Sources:
Wikipedia
The World Bank

Culture

Traditional clothes in Ethiopia are made from yahager lebs - clothes of the countryside - which are made of cotton woven together in long strips. These strips are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into the fabric for an elegant effect. Men wear pants and a knee-long shirt with a white collar, and a sweater. Men as well as women wear shawls, the neTela. Women's dresses are called habesha qemis. The dresses are usually white with some color on the bottom. Bracelets and necklaces from silver and gold are worn on arms and feet to complete the look. These traditional clothes are still worn on a day-to-day-basis in the country-side. In cities and towns, western clothes are popular; however, on special occasions, such as New Year, Christmas or weddings, traditional clothes are worn by some.

Ethiopian cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entrees, often prepared as a thick stew. One or more servings are placed upon a piece of large sourdough flatbread. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses the right hand to scoop up the entrees and side dishes. Traditional Ethiopian food does not use any pork or seafood (aside from fish), as most Ethiopians have historically adhered to Islam, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, or Judaism, all of which prohibit eating pork.

The Music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of the country's 80 ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Ethiopian music uses a unique modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes. Influences include ancient Christian elements and Muslim and folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Sudan and Somalia.

Ethiopia offers a greater richness in archaeological finds and historical buildings than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa. In April 2005, the Axum obelisk, one of Ethiopia's religious and historical treasures, was returned to Ethiopia by Italy. Under the orders of dictator Benito Mussolini, Italian troops seized the obelisk in 1937 and took it to Rome. Italy agreed to return the obelisk in 1947 in a UN agreement, and it was finally returned in 2005. There have been plenty of significant discoveries including the oldest complete human fossil, Lucy.

Sources:
Wikipedia

Tourism

The natural beauty of Ethiopia amazes the first-time visitor. Ethiopia is a land of rugged mountains, broad savannah, lakes and rivers. The unique Rift Valley is a remarkable region of volcanic lakes, with their famous collections of birdlife, great escarpments and stunning vistas. Tisisat, the blue Nile falls, must rank as one of the greatest natural spectacles in Africa today. With 14 major wildlife reserves, Ethiopia provides a microcosm of the entire subsaharan ecosystem. Birdlife abounds, and indigenous animals from the rare Walia ibex to the shy wild ass, roam free just as nature intended.

Ethiopia has a proud and long history extending to the known beginnings of humankind. The Axumite kingdom was one of the great civilizations of the ancient world and has left behind the mystery of the great Stellae found at Axum. In the late middle Ages great religious civilizations flourished in many parts of the country, particularly at Lalibela where churches hewn out of massive monolithic rock testify not only to great faith but also to great architectural skills. And in the former capital of Gondar many significant castles speak of the same legacy.

Ethiopia, an old country beyond all imaginations, has culture and traditions dating back over 3000 years, with over 80 different Ethnic groups with their own language, culture and traditions. The strong religious setting, celebrations and festivals play an important part in every ones daily life. Church ceremonies are a major feature of Ethiopian life. The events are impressive and unique.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has its own head, follows its own customs, and is extremely proud of its fourth century origins. Ethiopia's Islamic tradition is also strong and offers colorful contrast, particularly in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the country. This rich religious history is brought to life in the romantic walled city of Harar, considered by many Muslims to be the fourth "Holy City" following Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

Ethiopia's many national parks enable the visitor to enjoy the country's scenery and its wildlife, conserved in natural habitats, and offer opportunities for travel adventure unparalleled in Africa. The wildlife consists mainly of East African plains animals, but there are now no giraffe or buffalo. Oryx, bat-eared fox, caracal, aardvark, colobus and green monkeys, Anubis and Hamadryas baboons, klipspringer, leopard, bushbuck, hippopotamus, Soemmerings gazelle, cheetah, lion, kudu and 450 species of bird all live within the park's 720 square kilometers.

Sources:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia

HIV/AIDS

HIV continues to spread in Ethiopia, with prevalence remaining higher in the urban areas. Young people continue to be the most-affected population; HIV prevalence is higher among women, particularly young women and adolescent girls. At the same time, women and girls often have less information and access to services, especially in the rural areas. HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services need to be scaled up urgently, with strong focus on rural settings.

There are still a number of underlying factors that contribute to the spread of HIV in Ethiopia. These include illiteracy, stigma and discrimination of those living with HIV and affected by the epidemic, high rate of unemployment, widespread commercial sex work, gender disparity, population movements including rural to urban migration, and harmful cultural and traditional practices.

In January 2005, the Government launched a new Ethiopian Strategic Plan for Intensifying Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Response 2004–08, along with the Free Antiretroviral Treatment Program and Strategic Document on Social Mobilization. The Ethiopian Strategic Plan and other strategic documents are recognized as a common framework for action by all actors.

Efforts to address the plight of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are lagging behind in Ethiopia's profoundly conservative society, while they continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic. According to the Ethiopian Government’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO), the latest report, of the estimated 1.32 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2005, 55 percent - or 730,000 - were women. They also accounted for 54.5 percent of AIDS deaths and 53.2 percent of new infections in that year.

Physical and sexual violence within marriage are also common, and women have little room to negotiate the use of condoms or to refuse sex to an unfaithful partner. A 2005 World Health Organization (WHO) multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence revealed that in a one-year period nearly a third of Ethiopian women reported being physically forced by a partner to have sex against their will. Women in Ethiopia have the larger AIDS burden because of factors like economic dependence and difficulty in meeting basic needs, insufficient proper knowledge of prevention, lack of enough access to prevention.

Although there were organizations to support women and raise awareness of gender-based violence, they lacked support for their activities, particularly in rural areas, where women's rights were largely ignored. Mobilization of local resources and indigenous knowledge, as well as the promotion of women's creativity and productivity, can be vital tools in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS amongst women. WHO calls for programs to include activities to promote the prevention of sexual violence, and address the issues of sexual consent and coercion.

Sources:
UNFPA
USAID
UNAIDS