3.  General Geographic Features  27 th largest country in the world  Landlocked: No direct access to oceans  Regional Differences  Deserts in the East  Tropical Rainforest in South  Highlands in North and South West  Most cities are located over 1,000 KM above sea level

5.  Ethiopia’s Population  Over 93 million people live in Ethiopia  Largest Cities  Addis Ababa (National Capital): 3,040,740  Dire Dawa: 273, 601  Mek’ele: 271,562  Adama: 262, 884  Gondar: 262,884

7.  Main Geographical Features  Ethiopian Highlands  Great Rift Valley (Cuts the Highlands in ½)  Lake Tana (Source of the Blue Nile)  Mount Entonto  Wildlife  Climate and elevation have allowed for the creation of many species of animals that are unique to Ethiopia.  Ethiopia is home to 856 different species of birds!

13.  Ancient History  Scientist believe that some of the earliest records of human life occurred within present day Ethiopia  Aksum: One of the most powerful empires in the world during the 3 rd and 4 th Century (200-300 AD)  No African Scramble for Ethiopia!!  Menelik II (1889-1913) Emperor  Created present day boundaries for Ethiopia (Independence)  Resisted Italian forces in 1896  Created Addis Ababa  Haile Selassie I (1930-1974)  Time Magazines Man of Year in 1935  Teamed w/ GB to remove Italy for good in 1941 (part of WWII)  Ruled until the people of Ethiopia got rid of him because of the World Oil Shortage in 1973-1974

19.  Communist Ethiopia  Mengistu Hailemariam: Leader of the Derg Party  500,000 Ethiopians were killed by the Derg Party  End of Communist Party in Ethiopia  Drought: Killed more than 1 million people during the 1980s….led to mass protest of communist government by Ethiopians.  1991: USSR (Gorbachev) decided to cut aid to Ethiopia and other communist countries (Glasnost)  Deng Party was overthrow…Mengistu found guilty of genocide in 2006  Modern History  Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) gained control of country by 1994.

25.  Government Structure: Federal Parliamentary Republic  Executive Branch: Headed by Prime Minister  Legislative Branch: Controlled by 2 Chambers and Prime Minister  Judicial Branch: Separate from government  Reality  Ethiopia’s government is a authoritarian (one party in control)  Multiple Elections have been rigged in 2000, 2005, and 2010  Modern Leaders  Meles Zenawi (1994-2012)  Prime Minister  Hailemariam Desalegn (2012-pres)  New Prime Minister

27.  Ethnic Diversity  Over 80 different ethnic groups live in Ethiopia  Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically based states  Oromo and Amhara are the two largest groups  Religious Diversity  Christianity (62%) and Islam (33%) are the two largest religions in Ethiopia  Spiritual Homeland for Rastafarian Movement: Bob Marley and Reggae Music

30.  Economics  Ethiopia’s GDP is 41.9 billion dollars (value of goods and services)  During the mid 2000’s Ethiopia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  Today the GDP per capita is still very low  Agriculture  Makes up 40% of Ethiopia’s GDP and 80% of all Ethiopian exports  Main Crops: Coffee, beans, oilseed, cereal, potatoes  Stats: #1 in African Coffee Exports and #10 in worldwide livestock exports  Education  Literacy Rate is around 30% (pretty good for Africa)  6 years elementary school, 6 years of secondary

35.  Poverty  Both urban and rural areas have issues with poverty  80% of urban water is clean while only 11% of rural water is clean.  Around 20% of Ethiopia’s population live on less than 1 dollar a day.  75% of rural Ethiopians share sleeping quarters with livestock  50% of urban residents live in poorly constructed slums  Conclusion  Life is difficult for urban and rural living Ethiopians  More and more Ethiopians move to cities each year

39.  Food  WAT: Thick meat stews  Flatbreads are used as utensils….scoop up food, eat with hands.  Very little pork and/or shellfish due to religious beliefs  Sports  Long Distance Running is the most popular sport…multiple world record holders and gold medalist  Soccer is the 2 nd most popular sport. Ethiopia just missed qualifiying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup  Miscellaneous Culture Oddities  Freedom of Speech is limited  Marriage by Abduction is a popular practice in rural areas  Medical care is somewhat lacking…only 2.6 doctors for every 100,000 people

43.  Haile Gebrselassic  1996 and 2000 Gold Medalist in 10,000  27 world records during his career  Kenenisa Bakele  2004 and 2008 Gold Medalist in 10,000 and 5,000  Just won the 2014 Paris Marathon  Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi  Worth 12.3 billion dollars, richest man in Ethiopia  Made money in oil, construction, and real estate  Marcus Samuelsson  Celebrity Chef  Hibret Fekadu  Ethiopian Model

49.  Modern Issues  Voter Fraud in 2010  Back to back years of little rain (2010, 2011)  200 people died in government protests in 2005  Deforestation: Ethiopia’s forests are getting smaller at an alarming rate  AIDS and Women’s Health concerns  Current Events  Debates about Nile River Dam with Egypt  Anti-Gay Protests in Addis Ababa  Ethiopian dominance in international running events