Location: Africa
Status: UN Country
Capital City: Addis Ababa (Addis Abeba)
Main Cities: Gondar
Population: 56,316,000
Area: 1,221,900 km2
Currency: 1 Ethiopian birr = 100 cents
Languages: Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna
Religions: Ethiopian Orthodox, Muslim
More about Ethiopia: a state in NE Africa, on the Red Sea: consolidated as an empire under Menelik II (1889-1913); federated with Eritrea from 1952 until 1993; Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military in 1974 and the monarchy was abolished in 1975; an independence movement in Eritrea was engaged in war with the government from 1961 until 1993. It lies along the Great Rift Valley and consists of deserts in the southeast and northeast and a high central plateau with many rivers (including the Blue Nile) and mountains rising over 4500 m (15 000 ft.); the main export is coffee. Language: Amharic. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: birr. Capital: Addis Ababa. Pop.: 72 420 000 (2004 est.). Area: 1 128 215 sq. km (435 614 sq. miles) Former name: Abyssinia