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Capital: Addis Abeba
Population: 67 milion Area: 1,120 milion km²
Government: Federal Republic (made up of 9 states) Religions: Ethiopian Tewahido Orthodox Church, Islam, Ethiopian Hebrews (Beta Israel), minor Animistic cults |
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Ethiopia lies in the so-called Horn of Africa, which is the most oriental part of the African continent.
Ethiopia is a great country lying upon a bastion of volcanic plateaus, where the mountainous rainfalls accumulate to an enormous oasis overhanging the surrounding arid lands. In this ideal refuge against invasions, the rural Christian peoples and their State resisted for centuries to the pressures of Islam, which prevailed in almost all of the surrounding areas. This renders Ethiopia, in the words of Her last King of Kings, Haile Selassie the First, as "an island of Christianity ". The country shares land borders with Sudan in the West, Kenya in the South, Somalia and the Republic of Gibuti in the East. The northern region towards the Red Sea, which historically was the country's sole outlet to the sea (more than 1000 km), is now occupied by the recently formed State of Eritrea (1993). The country's massive range of mountains and plateaus is divided by the Rift Valley, which crosses the South-East and North East parts of the region and is surrounded by lowlands, steppe and semi-desert areas. The great diversity of landscapes creates an equal variety of climates, soils, vegetation and also population density. The regions of Ethiopia
The secession of Eritrea, in 1993, deprived Ethiopia of its outlet to the Red Sea.
The country is sub-divided into 11 regions:
1. Addis Abeba
2. Afar 3. Amhara 4. Benishangul-Gumaz 5. Dire Dawa 6. Gambela 7. Harar 8. Oromia 9. Somali 10. Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of the South 11. Tigrè Further Observations The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is placed at the feet of Mount Entoto. The city's elevation varys from 2300 to around 3000 m above sea level; together with its location within the equatorial belt this grants the city a dry and healthy climate, almost constant throughout the year and always agreeable. It is characterized by a great temperature range between the day hours, which are always warm but never exceedingly hot (generally between 22-28 C); and the night hours, which are generally mild, but in the coldest periods can fall down to a few degrees above 0. The name of the city means "New Flower" in Amharic; it is also known as Finfinne, from the Oromya word indicating the hot thermal waters for which it is famous. |
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