Portal:Ethiopia

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
የኢትዮጵያ ፌደራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ (Amharic)
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia የኢትዮጵያ ፌደራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ (Amharic)
	Flag Emblem
	Anthem: ; [ወደፊት ገስግሺ ፣ ውድ እናት ኢትዮጵያ] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: \|bold= (help); (English: "March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia");
ISO 3166 code	ET

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Introduction

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. Ethiopia covers a land area of 1,104,300 square kilometres (426,400 sq mi). As of 2024, it has around 128 million inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-most populous country in the world, the second-most populous in Africa after Nigeria, and the most populous landlocked country on Earth. The national capital and largest city, Addis Ababa, lies several kilometres west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the African and Somali tectonic plates.

Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out for the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. In 980 BC, the Kingdom of D'mt extended its realm over Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia, while the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region for 900 years. Christianity was embraced by the kingdom in 330, and Islam arrived by the first Hijra in 615. After the collapse of Aksum in 960, the Zagwe dynasty ruled the north-central parts of Ethiopia until being overthrown by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, inaugurating the Ethiopian Empire and the Solomonic dynasty, claimed descent from the biblical Solomon and Queen of Sheba under their son Menelik I. By the 14th century, the empire had grown in prestige through territorial expansion and fighting against adjacent territories; most notably, the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543) contributed to fragmentation of the empire, which ultimately fell under a decentralization known as Zemene Mesafint in the mid-18th century. Emperor Tewodros II ended Zemene Mesafint at the beginning of his reign in 1855, marking the reunification and modernization of Ethiopia. (Full article...)

Learn more about Ethiopia, its history, and its culture

Selected article -

Gathering in front of a traditional Gurage house.

Gurage (/ɡʊəˈrɑːɡeɪ/, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They inhabit the Gurage Zone and East Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in Central Ethiopia Regional State, about 125 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, bordering the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River, a tributary of the Omo River, to the southwest, and Hora-Dambal in the east.

According to the 2007 Ethiopian national census, the Gurage can also be found in substantial numbers in Addis Ababa, Oromia Region, Harari Region and Dire Dawa. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected biography -

Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, GCB, GCSI, FRS (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief engineer during the second relief of Lucknow in March 1858 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He also served in the Second Opium War as commander of the 2nd division of the expeditionary force which took part in the Battle of Taku Forts, the surrender of Peking's Anting Gate and the entry to Peking in 1860. He subsequently led the punitive expedition to Abyssinia in July 1867, defeating the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia with minimal loss of life among his own forces and rescuing the hostages of Tewodros. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

General images -

The following are images from various Ethiopia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Relief map of Ethiopia (from Ethiopia)
Image 2Fasil Ghebbi, one of the key castles of the Gondarine period (from Ethiopia)
Image 3Yared in a piece of 15th century Ethiopian sacred art holding a mequamia (prayer stick) (from Ethiopia)
Image 4Mengistu Haile Mariam was sentenced to death in absentia for committing crimes during his rule. (from Ethiopia)
Image 5Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (bottom row, fourth from left) in G8 Group meeting in 2007 (from Ethiopia)
Image 6Entrance of Addis Ababa University (from Ethiopia)
Image 7Ethiopian civil conflict: territorial control as of September 2023 (from Ethiopia)
Image 8House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower house of the Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly. (from Ethiopia)
Image 9Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) training under AMISOM, 2021 (from Ethiopia)
Image 10The African Union Headquarters located in Addis Ababa. Since its conception, Ethiopia is a founding member to the AU. (from Ethiopia)
Image 11Biete Medhane Alem, built during Zagwe dynasty in the Middle Ages (from Ethiopia)
Image 12The Aksumite Steles served as an official maker for the Emperors of Ethiopia during the time of the Aksumite Empire. (from Ethiopia)
Image 13The Blue Nile falls during winter provides over 86 percent of the Nile river's water coming from melted snow in the Simien mountains below 0. (from Ethiopia)
Image 14Development of GDP per capita (from Ethiopia)
Image 15Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 (from Ethiopia)
Image 16Over 6 million residents live in Addis Ababa, the financial epicenter of the country (from Ethiopia)
Image 17Aksumite currency of the Aksumite king Endubis, 227–35, at the British Museum (from Ethiopia)
Image 18Ethiopian troops sent by the government under the Emperor Haile Selassie I during the Korean War fighting for South Korean independence (from Ethiopia)
Image 19A group of men gather in a rural village for health training (from Ethiopia)
Image 20Sheger Park is the largest park in the country, hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year since its opening. (from Ethiopia)
Image 21Afewerk Tekle's "The Last Judgment" at St. George's Capel (from Ethiopia)
Image 22This meal consisting of injera and several kinds of wat (stew) is typical of Ethiopian cuisine. (from Ethiopia)
Image 23The Addis Ababa Science Museum of Art and Science serves as the country's biggest hub which showcases the country's newest innovations. (from Ethiopia)
Image 24The Church of Saint George, Lalibela, a pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; the site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela". (from Ethiopia)
Image 25The Ethiopian New Year or Enkutatash is celebrated with the adey abeba flower symbolising a new beginning, each year across the country. (from Ethiopia)
Image 26Declining child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia since 1950 (from Ethiopia)
Image 27The Empire of Axum at its peak in the 6th century (from Ethiopia)
Image 28The Federal Supreme Court is the highest court determining constitutionality of ordeals in the nation. (from Ethiopia)
Image 29Abebe Bikila, Ethiopia's first Olympic gold medalist (from Ethiopia)
Image 30A Homo sapiens idaltu hominid skull (from Ethiopia)
Image 31The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, former headquarters in Addis Ababa (from Ethiopia)
Image 32Emperor Haile Selassie I with U.S. president Roosevelt during the end of World War II (from Ethiopia)
Image 33Köppen climate classification of Ethiopia (from Ethiopia)
Image 34An Ethiopian logistics shipping cargo docked at the Red Sea (from Ethiopia)
Image 35The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam constructed between 2011 and 2023, set to be the largest dam in Africa (from Ethiopia)
Image 36Map of regions and zones of Ethiopia (from Ethiopia)
Image 37A Walia Ibex in Simien Mountains National Park, one of the national symbols of Ethiopia, found only in the north of the country (from Ethiopia)
Image 38Cultural performance in Addis Ababa (from Ethiopia)

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Visit the Ethiopian Wikipedians' notice board.: The noticeboard is the central forum for information and discussion on editing related to Ethiopia.
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Selected pictures

Image 1

Haile Selassie I was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, he is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history. Selassie is revered as the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafari movement, whose name comes from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Tafari Makonnen, Selassie's pre-coronation name.

Photo credit: American Colony, Jerusalem
Image 2

The black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) is a large African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It resembles other snake eagles and was formerly considered conspecific with the short-toed and Beaudouin's snake eagles, to which it is closely related. As well as feeding on snakes, which may be swallowed while still alive, it feeds on lizards, small mammals, frogs and insects. It typically perches in an elevated position ready to swoop silently to capture its prey, before returning to its perch to eat.

Photo credit: Charles J. Sharp
Image 3

Saint George (died 23 April 303) was a soldier of Cappadocian Greek origin. A member of Roman emperor Diocletian's Praetorian Guard, he was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He is immortalised in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon and his feast day is celebrated on 23 April. Saint George is claimed as their patron saint by England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Catalonia and several other nation states, as well as by various cities, universities, professions and organisations.

Painting credit: Carlo Crivelli
Image 4

The plains zebra (Equus quagga, subspecies Grant's zebra pictured) is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra is mid-sized, smaller on average than the other two zebra species, and thick-bodied with relatively short legs. Adults of both sexes can stand from 1.1 to 1.47 m (3.6 to 4.8 ft) high at the shoulder, are 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) long (excluding the tail), and weigh 175 to 387 kg (386 to 853 lb), with males slightly heavier than females.

Photo credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Image 5

The black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus tectus) is a resident breeder located across sub-Saharan Africa, living in locations ranging from Senegal to Ethiopia.

Photo credit: Charles J. Sharp

Did you know -

... that the government of Ethiopia's SNNP Region supported local governments calling for a referendum to secede from the region?
... that Liberian paramount chief Tamba Taylor worked as a tailor and claimed to have sewn clothes for Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah?
... that Quintin Johnstone advocated giving control of an American-governed law school to native Ethiopians?

In the news

3 August 2025 –: Sixty-eight people are killed, 74 others are reported missing and 12 others are injured when a boat carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants capsizes off Abyan Governorate, Yemen. (AP)