Ethiopia

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups and languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- From prehistory to the Aksumite kingdom
- The Zagwe and Solomonic dynasties
- Challenge, revival, and decline (16th–19th century)
- Emergence of modern Ethiopia (1855–1916)
  - Tewodros II (1855–68)
  - Yohannes IV (1872–89)
  - Menilek II (1889–1913)
  - Iyasu (1913–16)
- The rise and reign of Haile Selassie I (1916–74)
  - Regent and heir apparent
  - Emperor
  - Conflict with Italy
  - Return to power
  - Internal conflicts and the fall of the monarchy
- Socialist Ethiopia (1974–91)
  - Land reform and famine
  - Challenges to the regime
- Transition (1991–95)
- Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
  - Political and economic reforms
  - War with Eritrea
  - Dissent, protests, and increasing oppression
  - Winds of change
  - Challenges, ethnic tensions, and the Tigrayan conflict
  - 2021 elections, Tigrayan rebel advance, and expansion of fighting
  - Conflicts in Amhara and Oromia
  - Troubles in Tigray, regional tensions, and the 2026 election

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map of Ethiopia and surrounding countries in East Africa, showing international boundaries, major cities such as Addis Ababa, and neighboring nations including Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. An inset locator map highlights Ethiopia's position on the African continent.

The Simen Mountains rise above the green Ethiopian Plateau, with dramatic peaks under a blue sky with scattered clouds in northwestern Ethiopia.

Map highlighting Ethiopia in eastern Africa, shaded in tan, with its capital Addis Ababa marked. Surrounding countries include Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Major nearby bodies of water such as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are labeled.

The Chapel of the Tablet, a small stone building with blue-trimmed windows and a green dome, stands behind a blue fence in Aksum, Ethiopia, surrounded by trees and hills.

Map of Ethiopia and surrounding countries in East Africa, highlighting major physical features such as mountain ranges, plateaus, national parks, lakes, and rivers. Key features include the Ethiopian Plateau, Simen Mountains, Bale Mountains, Lake Tana, and the Awash and Omo rivers. An inset locator map shows Ethiopia's position on the African continent.

Goatherds with a flock of goats walk along a dirt path near the shore of Lake Tana, with scattered trees and distant water under a clear sky in Ethiopia.

Hayli Gubbi eruption

Blue Nile Falls cascades over a wide cliff surrounded by lush green vegetation, with mist rising and sunlight streaming through clouds in Ethiopia.

At a Glance

default image

Ethiopia summary

Ethiopia: Media

country, Africa

Videos

Follow an Ethiopian community churning butter, dyeing cloth, and harvesting subsistent crops

Follow an Ethiopian community churning butter, dyeing cloth, and harvesting subsistent crops

Ethiopian villagers cooking, churning butter, dyeing cloth, and producing crops

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Efforts toward sustainable industry growth in Ethiopia

Efforts toward sustainable industry growth in Ethiopia

Learn about a foreign aid program in Ethiopia, including the improvement of ensete...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Learn about the efforts to improve Ethiopia's education system including the building of universities

Learn about the efforts to improve Ethiopia's education system including the building of universities

Efforts to improve Ethiopia's education system have included the building of universities,...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Explore Ethiopia's untapped geothermal and hydropower resources

Explore Ethiopia's untapped geothermal and hydropower resources

Learn about Ethiopia's untapped resources of geothermal and hydroelectric power,...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Ethiopia

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Ethiopia and surrounding countries in East Africa, showing international boundaries, major cities such as Addis Ababa, and neighboring nations including Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. An inset locator map highlights Ethiopia's position on the African continent.

Ethiopia

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Simen Mountains rise above the green Ethiopian Plateau, with dramatic peaks under a blue sky with scattered clouds in northwestern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: Simien Mountains and Ethiopian Plateau

Simien Mountains, rising on the Ethiopian Plateau in northwestern Ethiopia.

Photo Almasy

Map highlighting Ethiopia in eastern Africa, shaded in tan, with its capital Addis Ababa marked. Surrounding countries include Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Major nearby bodies of water such as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are labeled.

Ethiopia

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Chapel of the Tablet, a small stone building with blue-trimmed windows and a green dome, stands behind a blue fence in Aksum, Ethiopia, surrounded by trees and hills.

Ethiopia: Chapel of the Tablet

Chapel of the Tablet, near the Church of St. Mary of Zion, Aksum, Ethiopia.

© Dmitry Chulov/Dreamstime.com

Map of Ethiopia and surrounding countries in East Africa, highlighting major physical features such as mountain ranges, plateaus, national parks, lakes, and rivers. Key features include the Ethiopian Plateau, Simen Mountains, Bale Mountains, Lake Tana, and the Awash and Omo rivers. An inset locator map shows Ethiopia's position on the African continent.

Physical features of Ethiopia

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Goatherds with a flock of goats walk along a dirt path near the shore of Lake Tana, with scattered trees and distant water under a clear sky in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: Lake Tana

Lake Tana, near Gaigora, Ethiopia.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Hayli Gubbi eruption

Hayli Gubbi eruption

A ground shot of the Hayli Gubbi eruption on November 23, 2025 shows two distinct...

© Afar Gov. Communication Bureau/Handout—Anadolu/Reuters

Blue Nile Falls cascades over a wide cliff surrounded by lush green vegetation, with mist rising and sunlight streaming through clouds in Ethiopia.

Blue Nile Falls, on the Blue Nile River, Ethiopia

© alekosa/stock.adobe.com

Awash National Park

Awash National Park

Waterfall at Awash National Park, Ethiopia.

Alberto Loyo—iStock/Thinkstock

Ethiopia: Omo River valley

Ethiopia: Omo River valley

Omo River valley, Ethiopia.

© AlbertoLoyo/iStock.com

A man in a white jacket displays an ancient illustrated Bible in Amharic, open to colorful pages, inside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, Ethiopia.

Aksum, Ethiopia: ancient Bible in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

A man displaying an ancient Bible in the Amharic language in the Church of Our Lady...

© Dmitry_Chulov—iStock Editorial/Getty Images

Ethiopian
nomads

Ethiopian nomads

Afar nomads in Ethiopia.

Victor Englebert

Ethiopia: Mursi

Ethiopia: Mursi

A member of the Mursi ethnic group, Ethiopia.

Ellen Mack (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Ram's horn shofar

Ram's horn shofar

Shofar made of ram's horn in the form of a fish, Ethiopia, 19th century; in the Jewish...

Graphic House/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Lalibela, Ethiopia: Amhara market

Lalibela, Ethiopia: Amhara market

Selling cotton at the Amhara market in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

Victor Englebert

Two Afar workers wearing headscarves and colorful clothing use axes to extract salt from the flat, white surface of Lake Asale in the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: salt from the Denakil Plain

Workers extracting salt from the Denakil Plain, Ethiopia.

© Suthasinee K/Shutterstock

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River, in Benishangul-Gumuz...

Minasse Wondimu Hailu—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Church of St. George in Lalibela, Ethiopia, a monolithic structure carved from rock in the shape of a cross, with weathered stone walls and small windows.

Lalibela, Ethiopia: rock-hewn church

Church of St. George, one of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia.

© Dmitry Chulov/Dreamstime.com

Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway

Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway

Workers constructing an electrified railway between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the...

© Xinhua/Alamy

St. George, from a 17th-century Ethiopian manuscript of the Gospels

St. George, from a 17th-century Ethiopian manuscript of the Gospels

Full-page illustration of St. George, from a 17th-century Ethiopian manuscript of...

Courtesy of The British Library, London

Tall stone obelisk with carved details stands among several smaller stelae at the Aksum Kingdom site in Ethiopia, with trees and blue sky in the background.

Obelisk at Aksum

An obelisk from the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum, in the modern town of the...

© Meinzahn—iStock/Getty Images

Ethiopia: palace of Iyasu the Great

Ethiopia: palace of Iyasu the Great

Iyasu the Great's palace at Fasil Ghebbi, Gonder, Ethiopia.

© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

“Lucy”

“Lucy”

“Lucy,” a 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton found...

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Map of Africa and surrounding regions with the territory of the ancient kingdom of Aksum highlighted in orange. The highlighted area covers parts of present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, and Djibouti, showing Aksum's location near the Red Sea in northeastern Africa.

Aksum, c. 6th century ce

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

House of Giorgis

House of Giorgis

House of Giorgis, rock-hewn church in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

© Edwin Remsberg/Alamy

Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghāzī

Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghāzī

Statue of the 16th-century Muslim leader Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghāzī (also known as...

RoboRanks

Fasilides' castle in Gonder

Fasilides' castle in Gonder

Fasilides' castle in Gonder, Ethiopia.

J. Allan Cash Photolibrary/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Illustration from Le Petit Journal showing King Menelik II in a red cloak and headdress riding a white horse as he surveys Ethiopian troops at the Battle of Adwa.

Battle of Adwa

Ethiopian Emperor Menilek II surveying his troops at the Battle of Adwa on March...

© Photo12—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Engraving depicting Ethiopian forces attacking Italian soldiers led by Brigadier General Vittorio Emanuele Dabormida during the Battle of Adwa, with chaotic close combat and smoke.

Battle of Adwa

Ethiopian forces attack the troops of Italian Brig. Gen. Vittorio Emanuele Dabormida...

© DEA Picture Library—De Agostini/Getty Images

Antique map showing northeast Africa from the early 1900s, including regions labeled as Tripoli, Egypt, Libya, Abyssinia, Darfur, and Wadai. The map features detailed borders, cities, and geographic features of the period, with an inset in the upper right corner highlighting the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal.

Ethiopia, c. 1902

Map of northeastern Africa, with Ethiopia (as Abyssinia) shown in the lower right...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1914, showing the region divided among British, German, French, and Italian colonial powers. Different territories are color-coded by colonial ruler, with key locations such as British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda), German East Africa (including present-day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi), Italian Somaliland, and French Somaliland labeled. Major lakes, rivers, and cities are also marked.

Imperial partitions of eastern Africa, c. 1914

Eastern Africa as partitioned by the imperial powers, c. 1914.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia stands in an ornate ceremonial uniform beside a table with a crown

Haile Selassie I

Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I posing in ceremonial uniform, c. 1930.

© Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Italian soldiers in the Italo-Ethiopian War

Italian soldiers in the Italo-Ethiopian War

Italian soldiers being transported by truck during the Italo-Ethiopian War in Ethiopia....

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Neg. no. LC-USZ62-59754)

Mengistu Haile Mariam in military uniform raises his left fist while delivering a speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 1977, with a crowd visible in the background.

Mengistu Haile Mariam

Ethiopian army officer and head of state Mengistu Haile Mariam delivering a speech...

William Campbell—Sygma/Getty Images

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaking at the launch of the La Gare mixed-use real estate development, Addis Ababa, November 19, 2018.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaking at the launch of the La Gare mixed-use real estate development, Addis Ababa, November 19, 2018.

Office of the Prime Minister -Ethiopia

Map of the Horn of Africa, highlighting the core countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti in solid light green, with Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda shown in striped light green to indicate broader definitions. Surrounding countries and bodies of water, including the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean, are also labeled. An inset globe marks the region's location in Africa.

Horn of Africa

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Blue Nile River

Blue Nile River

Blue Nile Falls, on the Blue Nile River, Ethiopia.

Jialiang Gao (www.peace-on-earth.org)

farm in Ethiopia

farm in Ethiopia

Farmers, one carrying a plow, in the Western Highlands of Ethiopia.

Brian Seed from TSW—CLICK/Chicago

Aksum: obelisks

Aksum: obelisks

Obelisks in Northern Stelae Park, Aksum, Ethiopia.

Jialiang Gao (www.peace-on-earth.org)

Flag of Ethiopia (1991–96).

Flag of Ethiopia (1991–96).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Ethiopia

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Ethiopia.

Interactives

Ethiopia: Ethnic composition

Ethiopia: Ethnic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia: Religious affiliation

Ethiopia: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia: Urban-rural

Ethiopia: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia: Age breakdown

Ethiopia: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia: Major export destinations

Ethiopia: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ethiopia: Major import sources

Ethiopia: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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