Ethiopia

Ethiopia A country, formerly known as Abyssinia, in north-eastern Africa. Sudan is on its eastern border, Eritrea on its northern border, and Kenya on its southern, while Somalia reaches round it on the east.

Physical

The low-lying Ogaden region in the east is very hot and arid; but the entire centre of the country is a group of volcanic mountain ranges with high plateaux where the air is mild and there is moderate summer rain. The Great Rift Valley runs through these, and the whole area is cut about with ravines and fertile valleys. In the north-west lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, while in the south-west forests rise along the slopes of the mountain ranges.

Economy

The Ethiopian economy has been centrally planned and has been based on collectivized agriculture. Coffee, hides, and skins are the main exports. Ethiopia has an oil refinery, but derives most of its energy from firewood, charcoal, and dung. Industry is limited.

History

By the 2nd century AD the kingdom of AKSUM had a brisk trade with Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and India in gold, ivory, and incense, and minted a gold currency. In the 4th century the court became Christian. Aksum collapsed c.1000, and, after a time of confusion, the Zagwe dynasty emerged. In 1270 it was replaced by the Solomonic dynasty claiming lineal descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, bringing the Amharas from the mountains of central Ethiopia to prominence. This may have been known to Europeans in the Middle Ages as the legendary kingdom of PRESTER JOHN. In the 16th century the Muslims of the lowlands attacked the Christian highlands, but were repulsed in 1542 with Portuguese artillery. When Jesuit missionaries came to Ethiopia Emperor Susenyos was converted to Roman Catholicism (1626). His son Fasilidas (1632–67), having forced him to abdicate, made Gondar the capital. Surrounded by Islam and torn by warring factions, the empire foundered. The only unifying force was the Ethiopian Coptic Church and the empire was not reunited until 1855, when Emperor Tewodros II was crowned, and this was continued during the reign of Menelik II.

Ethiopia successfully repelled Italian attempts at colonization by a decisive victory at ADOWA in 1896, but was conquered by MUSSOLINI in 1935–36. The Ethiopian emperor HAILE SELASSIE was restored in 1941 after the Abyssinian Campaigns and in the 1950s and 1960s Ethiopia emerged as a leading African neutralist state. Haile Selassie's failure to deal with severe social and economic problems led to his deposition by a group of radical army officers in 1974. A subsequent coup brought Colonel Mengistu to power in 1977, but his centralized Marxist state was confronted by a Somali-backed guerrilla war in ERITREA. Famine broke out on a massive scale (1984–87), and despite Soviet and Cuban military assistance and an international relief effort to alleviate starvation, neither peace nor plenty returned. In May 1991 Mengistu was forced to flee the country by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and their allies, who included the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. Peace talks in London resulted in the recognition of an EPRDF government in Addis Ababa, which largely succeeded in restoring order. In 1991 the country was divided into nine regions, based on ethnic groupings. Eritrea voted to secede and became independent in 1993. A new constitution was adopted in 1994 for the so-called Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which gave the regions considerable autonomy. The first multiparty elections (1995) were won by the EPRDF, under Meles Zenawi.

Capital:	Addis Ababa
Area:	1,223,500 sq km (472,400 sq miles)
Population:	58,390,000 (1998 est)
Currency:	1 Ethiopian birr = 100 cents
Religions:	Ethiopian Orthodox 40.0%; Muslim 40.0%; traditional beliefs 15.0%;other Christian 4.5%
Ethnic Groups:	Galla 40.0%; Amhara-Tigre 32.0%; Kafa Sidano 9.0%; Somali 6.0%; Nilotic 6.0%; Afar 5.0%
Languages:	Amharic (official); Gallinya; local languages
International Organizations:	UN; OAU; Non-Aligned Movement