Ethiopia
Africa ยท Capital: Addis Ababa
How it is run: Ethiopia is a member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly. Use the research links below to find out exactly who makes the laws there.
Ethiopia is home to 135.5 million people in Eastern Africa, where people speak Amharic.
Numbers that tell a story ๐ข
๐ฅ People
135.5 million people
That is 1.7% of everybody alive (counted in 2025).
๐บ๏ธ Land
1,104,300 kmยฒ
One of the world's large countries: flying across it takes hours.
๐๏ธ How crowded
About 123 people per square kilometre โ busy towns with countryside in between.
๐ Size in its region
2nd most people in Africa
10th largest by land in Africa.
๐ฃ๏ธ Official languages
Amharic
๐ฐ Money
Ethiopian birr (Br)
Life here today ๐ฉบ
These come from World Bank open data โ the same numbers governments use when they argue about budgets.
โค๏ธ How long people live
67.6 years on average
Doctors, clean water and food supply all change this number over time.
๐ผ Money made per person each year
about US$933
A lower-income country: money for schools, clinics and roads has to stretch a very long way.
๐ข Living in cities
24.1% of people
Many people still live in villages and farming towns.
๐ Kids under 15
38.8% of the population
A very young country โ schools have to be built quickly.
Everyday details ๐งญ
๐ Phone code
+251
Dial this before the number to call from another country.
๐ Websites end in
.et
๐ง People here are called
Ethiopian
๐ท๏ธ Name at home
แขแตแฎแตแซ
Also written: สพฤชtyลแนแนyฤ, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, แจแขแตแฎแตแซ แแดแซแแ แฒแแญแซแฒแซแ แชแแฅแแญ.
๐ Coast or inland
Landlocked โ no coastline
๐๏ธ UN voting group
African Group
Countries in the same group often plan votes together.
Neighbours & borders ๐ค
Ethiopia is landlocked โ it has no coastline, so anything arriving by sea must cross a neighbour's border first.
Say its name around the world ๐ฃ๏ธ
Countries have different names in different languages. Try these with a penpal.
Spanish
Etiopรญa
French
รthiopie
Arabic
ุฅุซููุจูุง
Chinese
ๅๅกไฟๆฏไบ
Japanese
ใจใใชใใข
Russian
ะญัะธะพะฟะธั
Portuguese
Etiรณpia
German
รthiopien
Put it in perspective ๐
- Nigeria โ the most populated country in Africa โ has about 1.8ร as many people as Ethiopia.
- Ethiopia covers roughly 10,517 times the area of Hong Kong Island.
- If everyone in Ethiopia lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch about 67,736 km.
Flags through time ๐
A flag is a country telling you what it believes. Scroll the timeline and watch Ethiopia change.
Empire of Ethiopia
Green, yellow and red became the colours other African nations later borrowed.
Derg years
A military government removed the imperial lion.
Modern Ethiopia
The blue disc with a star means unity of all the country's peoples.
Fast facts ๐ง
Fact of the day: Ethiopia is a full member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly โ the same as every other member, big or small.
๐ท๏ธ Official name
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
๐๏ธ Capital
Addis Ababa
๐ Region
Africa ยท Eastern Africa
๐ค Country code
ET
๐๏ธ UN status
UN member state
๐ฉ Independence
Independent country
More about Ethiopia ๐
Rock churches of Lalibela
Eleven churches carved downward out of solid rock about 800 years ago โ no bricks, just chisels and one giant stone.
See it in Street View๐งญ Where on the map
8.0ยฐ N, 38.0ยฐ E
๐ Half of the world
Northern & Eastern hemisphere
๐ฐ๏ธ Clock check
Roughly UTC+3 โ when it is noon in London it is about 15:00 in Addis Ababa.
- Ethiopia lies in the tropics, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, so the sun gets very high overhead.
- ๐ช๐น is the flag of Ethiopia. Its country code โ the short name used on the internet and at the Olympics โ is ET.
- Ethiopia is a full member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly โ the same as every other member, big or small.
- Ethiopia shares its part of the world with Mayotte. Countries close together often trade the most with each other.
- The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa โ that's where the country's big decisions get made.
Countries nearby ๐ค
Talk about it ๐ฌ
- Ethiopia has 1 official language. How would your school day change if lessons were taught in more than one language?
- Being landlocked means paying neighbours to move goods to the sea. What deal would you offer a neighbour if you led Ethiopia?
- If Ethiopia spoke at the General Assembly tomorrow, what one problem should its delegate ask the world to help fix?
Quick quiz ๐งช
Guess first, then tap to check your answer.
What is the capital of Ethiopia?
Addis Ababa
Which money do people spend in Ethiopia?
Ethiopian birr (Br)
How many countries share a land border with Ethiopia?
6 โ Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan.
Roughly how many people live in Ethiopia?
135.5 million people
Keep researching ๐
Everything here is a starting point. These trusted sites, databases and libraries will take you further โ and they are the kind of sources a teacher will accept in a report.
Start here โ kid-friendly encyclopedias ๐
Short articles written for students, with maps and photos you can use in a report.
Official data & government sources ๐๏ธ
Primary sources. Cite these when your teacher asks for real data.
News & current policy ๐ฐ
Use two different outlets before you decide what you think.
Your library card ๐ซ
Libraries give you books, databases and librarians โ all free.
Library tip: Ask your school or public librarian for their online databases (like Gale in Context or EBSCO Explora). Your library card unlocks them for free at home, and they are already checked by adults for school use.