Geography

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world, at least 2,000 years.

It is a large landlocked country in east Africa, situated to the west of Eritrea and Somalia with a total area of 1,127,000 km2, it also has borders with Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan.

The climate is tropical monsoon and the terrain is high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley. The altitude varies from 125 m below sea level to the highest point Ras Dejen which is 4,620 m above sea level. The Great Rift Valley is susceptible to earthquakes, volvanic eruptions and frequent droughts.

The Blue Nile, a major tributary of the Nile rises in Lake Tana in north-west Ethiopia.

The population is about 68 million and a number of languages are spoken including Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages and English (major foreign language taught in schools).

Further details can be found at CIA Factbook.