Ethiopia
Ethiopia's Big Four - Bahir Dar, Gondar, Axum and Lalibela are a great introduction to historia Africa. Plus the majesty of the Semien Mountains.
Ethiopia is situated in the north of East Africa, It is bordered to the north east by eritrea, to the south and east by Somalia, directly to the south by Kenya, and to the west and north by Sudan.
Total Area:1,127,127 sq km
Land Borders:Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya
Population: 74,777,981 Sudan, Kenya
Life Expectancy: 50 years
HIV % Total Poulation:4.4%
Ethnic Groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Languages:Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
President:GIRMA Woldegiorgis
GDP - Per Capita: $900
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. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.