Ethiopia - Geography
Population data for Ethiopia is
uncertain; latest census was held in 1994. Ethiopia is the country in Africa
that has the third largest population (after Nigeria and Egypt), and the growth
rate of over 3% per year is among the highest in the world. About half of the
population is under 15. This in itself contributes to a very low standard of
living for the vast majority, not least in rural areas. In the cities too, the
number of very poor people has grown, especially after the former government's
strong control over the population's move from country to city has
lapsed. However, 85-90% still live in the countryside. At least a third of the
adult population is illiterate, and the vast majority of these are women,
reflecting in particular the very harsh living conditions of rural women.
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Contrary to what is otherwise common in Africa, the borders of Ethiopia are
not primarily defined by the colonial powers. Nevertheless, the ethnic
composition is extremely complex, with a large number of ethnic groups being
forced and incorporated into Ethiopia as the empire expanded its borders. Thus,
there are more than 80 ethnic groups, each with their own language and cultural
distinctiveness, at the same time as coexistence has led to numerous mixes.
Three main groups are distinguished. Among the Semitic people, Amharas and
Tigrays are most important; they are predominantly farmers in the northern and
central highlands, and a majority are Christians. The Amharas have traditionally
dominated politics and economics. The Cushite people include the
largest single group, the Oromans. The majority are Muslims and many are cattle
farmers in the southern and eastern lowlands, some as actual nomads. Finally,
there are the relatively few Bantu people in the western and southwest
peripheries; many of them are animists, and until the 1960's and 1970's their
integration into Ethiopia was quite marginal.
An important factor behind the expansion of the Amharas was increasing
population pressure and ecological degradation of their core areas in the
Northern Highlands; this continues to apply. Migrations from the north to the
thinner populated and more fertile regions to the south and west have thus
contributed to the ethnic complexity. In connection with the major drought
disaster in 1984-85, which hit the hardest in the northern highlands, the
military regime forced the displacement of 1 million. people; however, many of
these, after the fall of the board, have returned to their homes.
Over half of the population is believed to be Christian
(predominantly Ethiopian Orthodox), while slightly less than half are Muslims.
The population situation is complicated by the many wars in the region, which
have led to large flows of refugees in and out of the country. Ethiopia
continues to house a significant number of refugees from Sudan and Somalia, and
during the Ethiopian civil war, more than 1 million refugees fled. people to
Sudan, from which they are now slowly returning. Also, the integration of the
soldiers from the now demobilized army of the military regime, which had been
Africa's largest with more than 400,000 men, posed a significant problem.
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Business and development
Both the empire and the military ruled decisively on the unity of Ethiopia
under a central, Amharic- dominated regime. As a result, economic development
was concentrated at the center of the country, and it promoted ethnic and
regional opposition to the central government. The new government, on the other
hand, has since 1991 sought to promote an ethnically based political
organization. There are carried out extensive administrative restructuring into
new, ethnically defined regions with extensive autonomy.
Agriculture employs approximately 80% of the population, the vast majority
in small farms with a very low technological level even by African standards. In
addition to farming, cattle farming is also important, and over a third of the
acreage, especially in the lower, less fertile areas, is used for
grazing. Agricultural productivity is very low, and even in good harvests,
Ethiopia must import a significant portion of its food consumption,
predominantly as food aid. At the same time, agriculture accounts for over 80%
of coffee exports, which is by far the most important commodity, followed by
hides and leather.
The land reform in 1975 effectively dealt with the Soviet
model of the feudal system of large estates that had existed in large parts of
the country until then, but the problems of small farmers increased. All land
was nationalized and approximately 95% of the arable land was distributed to small
farms according to the size and needs of each household, but so that it was
redistributed at intervals and thus the individual farmer did not have security
of the right of use for a given piece of land. At the same time, the government
withdrew large resources from small farms through taxation and schemes that
forced the farmers to sell especially cereals at very low prices. Thus the
peasants had neither interest nor opportunity to improve their land and
cultivation methods; production stagnated and vulnerability to drought periods
increased.
The vast majority of state investment in the agricultural sector went to
state farms and to a lesser extent cooperative farms set up on the remaining 5%
of the land. The cooperative farms never became more important, but the state
farms, despite significant inefficiencies in the 1980's, accounted for a
significant part of the marketed food production, as well as the majority of
export production, especially coffee. With the change of government in 1991, the
cooperatives disbanded, while most state farms sought to be continued, partly
with the involvement of private capital. The government has declared that it
will improve the conditions of small-scale farming, and price formation has been
liberalized in favor of the peasants, but a reform of rights to the land is
waiting.
The industry is of very limited scope. In addition to the processing
of agricultural commodities for export (coffee, tea, leather), it is mainly
light industry aimed at the domestic market: beverages, food and textiles and
basic building materials. The companies are mainly located in and around Addis
Ababa and to a lesser extent Dire Dawa. They were formerly state-owned, but the
new government has initiated a privatization.
Infrastructure. Ethiopia has relatively good, albeit somewhat worn,
year-round highways extending radially from Addis Ababa to the main cities of
the province as well as to the port city of Assab in Eritrea. The other road
network is very poorly developed and many sections are not navigable during the
rainy season. The country's only railway goes from Addis Ababa to the port city
of Djibouti in the neighboring country of the same name. Following Eritrea's
independence, Ethiopia no longer has its own access to the sea. Due. the war
with Eritrea strengthened Ethiopia's relations with Djibouti; almost all the
country's exports go through the port of Djibouti. Domestic flights are well
developed with connection to many small airports, and Addis Ababa is an
important hub for international air traffic in Africa.
Read on about Ethiopia's natural geography or about Ethiopia in general.
Ethiopia - Geography (Natural Geography)
Ethiopia - Geography (Nature Geography), Ethiopia's core is made up of the
highlands that extend to the north into Eritrea, but otherwise extend into the
lowlands beyond the country's borders. The highland, where 80% of the population
lives, is divided into a western and an eastern part of the Rift Valley, which
extends throughout the country. The highlands are generally located. at 2400 m
altitude, but significant areas are over 3600 m and many peaks are above 4000
m; the highest is the Ras Dash (4620 m). Especially to the north, the highlands
are characterized by dramatic landscapes with distinctive flat mountain peaks
separated by deep river smells; here originates, among other things. The Blue
Nile. A large population density has in many places led to heavy deforestation
and subsequent erosion of otherwise fertile soil.
Rift Valley is located in approximately 1500 m in height and is only 40 km wide in
the narrowest place. The valley contains a number of large lakes and volcanic
hot springs. To the northeast, the valley extends into the deserted Daniak plain
and reaches down to 116 m below sea level in the Kobar sink.
To the south and east, the landscape descends towards Somalia with the Harge
Mountains and the Ogaden Desert. Towards Sudan, west of the highlands, lies a
narrow strip of fertile lowland, which is difficult to access from the rest of
Ethiopia.
Climate. The highlands have a mostly temperate climate with large
24-hour fluctuations. The rainfall is very unevenly distributed, but generally
increases with altitude and to the west and south. The rainy season is from June
to September, but there are large fluctuations from year to year and regular
drought years occur regularly. In the lowlands, temperatures can even be very
high, and with the exception of the southwestern lowlands, which get quite good
rainfall, the areas are dry. The watery rivers from the highlands create the
opportunity for irrigation, but the areas are mainly used for extensive cattle
farming. Several of the rivers have a large, untapped hydropower potential; the
main exploitation takes place in power plants on the Awash River in the Rift
Valley.
Tourism. Ethiopia has great untapped potential as a tourist
country. In the magnificent nature of the highlands, there are several species
of mammals that are not seen elsewhere (including Abyssinian
Capricorn, Geladabavian and Simien fox), and there are several national
parks. In addition, the historic sites to the north such as Aksum and Lalibela
are world-class attractions.
Ethiopia - Paleoanthropology (Fossils)
Ethiopia - Paleo Anthropology (Fossils), In Ethiopia, a number of important
finds of forms have been made on the human development line during the
1990's. Knowledge of Australopithecus afarensis has been expanded, new
forms such as Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba (about 5.5 million years
old) and Australopithecus garhi (2.5 million years) have been
discovered, and two Ethiopian skulls of Paranthropus boisei have
propagated it to the north. See also Ethiopia - Paleoanthropology.
Ethiopia - language
Ethiopia - languages, Ethiopia speaks partly Ethiopian languages, a branch
of the Semitic languages and partly Cushitic and Omotic languages. A few
speak nilotic languages. Of the Ethiopian languages, in particular, the
official language is spoken Amharic (over 20 million) and Tigrinnya (about
3.2 million). In addition, Amharic was previously widely used as a second
language. In addition, the language tigers, geez, now used
only liturgically, and gurage.
Of the Kushite languages, the most important are Oromo and Somali. Of
the remaining approximately 20 Kushite languages include Saho, Sidamo and Hadiyya.
In the southwestern part of Ethiopia, omotic languages are spoken (about 3
million). English is used as a second language in the education system.
Ethiopia - religion
Ethiopia - religion, Since 300-t. Christianity has been state religion in
Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which was a state church until 1974,
is especially widespread in the northern and central part of the country and
includes approximately 43% (1995) of the population. Islamis dominant to the east and
has an approximately 35%. A Catholic church (about 0.75%) and a number of Protestant
church orientations (about 14%) have emerged in connection with the work of
Western missionaries and are most prevalent in southern and western
Ethiopia. The largest Protestant denominations are Baptist Kale Hiywot and
Lutheran Mekane Yesus Church, each with over $ 1.5 million. members. approximately 6% of
the population, mainly along the border with Sudan, are supporters of
traditional African religions. The Protestant churches and Islam are growing
strongly at the expense of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and traditional
religion.
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