Ethiopia

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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. The third-most populous African nation, Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, and the only African nation to have enjoyed continuous sovereignty throughout and beyond the Scramble for Africa. Often regarded as the "Cradle of Humanity" for the peerlessly ancient traces of humanity unearthed there, Ethiopia is also the second oldest Christian nation, having maintained its Christian character since the 4th century AD.

Historically an intersection of African and Middle Eastern civilisations, Ethiopia has more recently become a crossroads of global international cooperation: it was a charter member of the League of Nations in 1923 and the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa, was one of the 51 original members of the United Nations, and is currently the headquarters for and the main founder of the former Organisation of African Unity and current African Union.

Name
The Ge'ez name and its English cognate Ethiopia, is thought by some to be derived from the Greek word a Aithiopia, from Aithiops ‘an Ethiopian’, derived from Greek terms meaning "of burnt (a??-) visage (??)".[2] However, this etymology is disputed, since the Book of Aksum, a Ge'ez chronicle first composed in the 15th century, states that the name is derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Axum. It is not certain how old the name Ethiopia is, but its earliest attested use in the region was as a Christianized name for the Kingdom of Aksum in the 4th century, in stone inscriptions of King Ezana].

In English, Ethiopia was also historically known as Abyssinia, derived from the Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "?BST," modern Habesha. In some countries, Ethiopia is still called by names cognate with "Abyssinia," e.g. Turkish Habesistan and Arabic Al Habesh, meaning land of the Habesha people. The term Habesha strictly refers to only the Semitic-speaking peoples of Ethiopia (predominantly the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya people who have historically dominated the country politically and which combined comprise about 36% of Ethiopia's population). However, in contemporary Ethiopian politics the word Habesha is often used to describe all Ethiopans. Abyssinia can strictly refer to just the North-Western Ethiopian provinces of Amhara and Tigray as well as central and Eritrea, while it was historically used as another name for Ethiopia.

The Hebrew word for Ethiopia as mentioned in the Bible is Cush, the father of Ityopp'is, making reference to the indigenous Cushitic-speaking peoples of the region.

History
Main article: History of Ethiopia

Early History
Human settlement in Ethiopia is very ancient; bones of the earliest ancestors to the human species, discovered in Ethiopia, have been assigned dates as long ago as 5.8 million years.[5] Together with Eritrea and the southeastern part of the Red Sea coast of Sudan, it is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru," meaning land of the Gods), whose first mention dates to the twenty-fifth century BC.

Aksum and D'mt

The ruin of the temple at Yeha dates to the 7th or 8th century BC.Around the eighth century BC, a kingdom known as D?mt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be indigenous, although Sabaean-influenced due to the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea,[6] while others view D`mt as the result of a mixture of "culturally superior" Sabaeans and indigenous peoples;[7] a very small minority even views the kingdom as wholly Sabaean and Ethiopians as the descendents of ancient Sabaean immigrants .[8] However, there is archaeological evidence to prove that at one point in time a region in Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea was called Saba. However, most modern scholars often refer to it as Ethiopian Saba since it had a separate entity than the Saba in Yemen.

After the fall of D`mt in the fifth century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms during the first century BC, the Aksumite Kingdom, ancestor of medieval and modern Ethiopia, which was able to reunite the area.[9] They established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time.

In 316 AD, a Christian philosopher from Tyre, Meropius, embarked on a voyage of exploration along the coast of Africa. He was accompanied by, among others, two Syro-Greeks, Frumentius and his brother Aedesius. The vessel was stranded on the coast, and the natives killed all the travelers except the two brothers, who were taken to the court and given positions of trust by the monarch. They both practiced the Christian faith in private, and soon converted the queen and several other members of the royal court. Upon the king's death, Frumentius was appointed regent of the realm by the queen, and instructor of her young son, Prince Ezana. A few years later, upon Ezana's coming of age, Aedesius and Frumentius left the kingdom, the former returning to Tyre where he was ordained, and the latter journeying to Alexandria. Here, he consulted Athanasius, who ordained him and appointed him Bishop of Axum. He returned to the court and baptized the King Ezana, together with many of his subjects, and in short order Christianity was proclaimed the official state religion. For this accomplishment, he received the title "Abba Selama" ("Father of peace").

At various times, including a fifty-year period in the sixth century, Axum controlled most of modern-day Yemen and some of southern Saudi Arabia just across the Red Sea, as well as controlling southern Egypt, northern Sudan, northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Somalia.

Bete Giyorgis from above, one of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.The line of rulers descended from the Axumite kings was broken several times: first by the Jewish (unknown/or pagan) Queen Gudit around 950[13] (or possibly around 850, as in Ethiopian histories).[14] It was then interrupted by the Zagwe dynasty; it was during this dynasty that the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were carved under King Lalibela, allowed by a long period of peace and stability.[15] Around 1270, the Solomonic dynasty came to control Ethiopia, claiming descent from the kings of Axum. They called themselves Neguse Negest ("King of Kings," or Emperor), basing their claims on their direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba.

Restored contact With Europe
During the reign of Emperor Yeshaq, Ethiopia made its first successful diplomatic contact with a European country since Aksumite times, sending two emissaries to Alfons V of Aragon, who sent return emissaries that failed to complete the trip to Ethiopia.[17] The first continuous relations with a European country began in 1508 with Portugal under Emperor Lebna Dengel, who had just inherited the throne from his father.

King Fasilides' Castle.This proved to be an important development, for when the Empire was subjected to the attacks of the Adal General and Imam, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (called "Grañ", or "the Left-handed"), Portugal responded to Lebna Dengel's plea for help with an army of four hundred men, who helped his son Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule.[19] However, when Emperor Susenyos converted to Roman Catholicism in 1624, years of revolt and civil unrest followed resulting in thousands of deaths.[20] The Jesuit missionaries had offended the Orthodox faith of the local Ethiopians, and on June 25, 1632 Susenyos' son, Emperor Fasilides, declared the state religion to again be Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and expelled the Jesuit missionaries and other Europeans.

All of this contributed to Ethiopia's isolation from 1755 to 1855, called the Zemene Mesafint or "Age of Princes." The Emperors became figureheads, controlled by warlords like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray, and later by the Oromo Yejju dynasty.[23] Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that concluded an alliance between the two nations; however, it was not until the reign of Emperor Tewodros II, who began modernizing Ethiopia and recentralizing power in the Emperor, that Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again.

Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Zion, with his son, Ras Araya Selassie Yohannis.
[edit] Escaping the Scramble for Africa
The 1880s were marked by the Scramble for Africa and modernization in Ethiopia, when the Italians began to vie with the British for influence in bordering regions. Asseb, a port near the southern entrance of the Red Sea, was bought from the local Afar sultan, vassal to the Ethiopian Emperor, in March 1870 by an Italian company, which by 1890 led to the Italian colony of Eritrea. Conflicts between the two countries resulted in the Battle of Adowa in 1896, whereby the Ethiopians surprised the world by defeating the colonial power and remaining independent, under the rule of Menelik II. Italy and Ethiopia signed a provisional treaty of peace on October 26, 1896.

The early twentieth century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who undertook the rapid modernization of Ethiopia — interrupted only by the brief Italian occupation (1936–1941).[24] British and patriot Ethiopian troops liberated the Ethiopian homeland in 1941, which was followed by sovereignty on January 31, 1941 and British recognition of full sovereignty (i.e. without any special British privileges) with the signing of the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.

Selassie years
In 1962, Haile Selassie's government annexed Eritrea, a state that had already been federated with the Ethiopian Crown; this act led to the Eritrean War of Independence. Furthermore, Ethiopia suffered from various economic issues that led to the 1972-74 drought in Wallo killing 200,000 Ethiopians. Although Haile Selassie was seen as a national and African hero, opinion turned against him as nobility filled their pockets while millions of landless peasants went hungry. In 1974 students, workers, peasants and the army rose against him. [26] Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in 1974, mostly due to economic hardship, when a pro-Soviet Marxist-Leninist military junta, the "Derg" led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, deposed him and established a one-party communist state. Haile Selassie was imprisoned and probably tortured to death by the junta, who were demanding that he turn over Ethiopia's 25-million-dollar deposits in Switzerland to the junta. The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a massive refugee problem. In 1977 Somalia attacked Ethiopia, sparking the Ogaden War, but Ethiopia quickly defeated them with a massive influx of Soviet military hardware and a Cuban military presence coupled with East Germany and South Yemen the following year. Mengistu resides in Zimbabwe, despite attempts by Ethiopia to extradite him to face trial by the present Ethiopian government. 106 officials were accused, but only 36 of them were present in the court. Several former members of the Derg have been sentenced to death in absentia. The trial began in 1994 and ended in 2006. Mengistu Haile Mariam was tried in absentia and convicted for crimes (genocide) committed by his Marxist government from 1974 to 1991, the period called “Red Terror". There is no extradition treaty between Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.

Red Terror
The efforts by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party to discredit and undermine the Derg and its MEISON collaborators escalated in the fall of 1976. It targeted public buildings and other symbols of state authority for bombings and assassinated numerous Abyot Seded and MEISON members, as well as public officials at all levels. The Derg, which countered with its own Red Terror campaign, labeled the EPRP's tactics the White Terror. Mengistu asserted that all "progressives" were given "freedom of action" in helping root out the revolution's enemies, and his wrath was particularly directed toward the EPRP. Peasants, workers, public officials, and even students thought to be loyal to the Mengistu regime were provided with arms to accomplish this task.

Mengistu's decision resulted in fratricidal chaos. Many civilians he armed were EPRP sympathizers rather than supporters of MEISON or the Derg. Between early 1977 and late 1978, roughly 5,000 people were killed. In the process, the Derg became estranged from civilian groups, including MEISON. By early 1979, Abyot Seded stood alone as the only officially recognized political organization; the others were branded enemies of the revolution. Growing human rights violations prompted the United States, Ethiopia's superpower patron, to counsel moderation. However, the Derg continued to use extreme measures against its real and perceived opponents to ensure its survival. From 1975-1978, Mengistu Haile Mariam was alleged to be responsible for the 7th worst genocide in world history. Around 1,500,000 Ethiopians were claimed to be the victims of the Derg genocide.

In addition to the urban guerrilla warfare being waged by the EPRP, nationalist movements such as the EPLF, the OLF, the TPLF, and the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) also stepped up their military campaigns in the countryside. By the end of 1976, the Eritreans had made substantial gains in rural areas, forcing Ethiopian troops into garrisons and urban centers in Eritrea. Meanwhile, armed groups such as the OLF and the TPLF were severely testing the regime, and in 1977 the WSLF, with the assistance of Somali troops, occupied most of the Ogaden. The Ethiopian government, however, with aid from the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Eastern Europe, reasserted its authority over contested areas by the following spring

Secession of Eritrea
In 1993, following a referendum, the annexed province of Eritrea (of which part was considered Ethiopia prior to Italian colonization) became independent from Ethiopia, ending more than thirty years of armed conflict, one of the longest in Africa. In 1994, a constitution was adopted that led to Ethiopia's first multi-party elections in the following year. In May 1998, a dispute over the undemarcated border with Eritrea led to the Eritrean-Ethiopian War that lasted until June 2000. This has hurt the nation's economy, but strengthened the ruling coalition. On May 15, 2005, Ethiopia held another multiparty election, and resulted in the EPRDF's disputed return to power.

Politics
Main article: Politics of Ethiopia
See also: Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia

Prime Minister Meles ZenawiPolitics of Ethiopia takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is more or less independent of the executive and the legislature.

The election of Ethiopia's 547-member constituent assembly was held in June 1994. This assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections for Ethiopia's first popularly-chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and June 1995. Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections. There was a landslide victory for the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). International and non-governmental observers concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they chosen to do so.

The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995. The first President was Negasso Gidada. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically-based authorities. Ethiopia today has nine semi-autonomous administrative regions that have the power to raise and spend their own revenues. Under the present government, some fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, are, in practice, somewhat circumscribed.[citation needed] Citizens have access to one television station, which is owned and operated by the government].

Zenawi's government was "re-elected" in 2000 in Ethiopia's first multi-party elections. The incumbent President is Girma Wolde-Giorgis with his term ending in 2006.

Conflict in Somalia (2006)
This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

Main article: War in Somalia (2006–present)
On Sunday, December 24, 2006, Ethiopian forces launched airstrikes against the Islamist Militia across Somalia in support of the weak Somali interim government.[28] Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu stated that targets were in Baidoa. This was the first use of airstrikes by Ethiopia, and also its first public admission of involvement in Somalia. Initially the Ethiopian government made strong denials of this fact.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday he was waging war against Somalia's Islamists to protect his country's sovereignty, adding that: "Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they are supporting"

On Monday December 25, 2006 Ethiopia declared war on the Islamic Courts, and Ethiopian jet fighters bombed the international airport in Mogadishu. [9] Ethiopia, the United Nations and most Western nations do not recognize the Islamic courts (UIC) as the Somali government, backing instead the legitimacy of the transitional government. However Eritrea is accused of supporting the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia.

Ethiopian police massacre
Main article: Ethiopian police massacre
On October 18, 2006 an independent report said Ethiopian police massacred 193 protesters, mostly in the capital Addis Ababa, in the violence of June and November following the May 2005 elections. The information was leaked before the official independent report was handed to the parliament. The leak made by Ethiopian judge Wolde-Michael Meshesha found that the government had concealed the true extent of deaths at the hands of the police. [31] This leak also brought more accusations that the opposition party which provoked the riots was trying to damage the reputation of the government by leaking the inquiry unlawfully. Gemechu Megerssa, a member of the independent Inquiry commission, which Mr. Meshesha once worked with, said Mr. Meshesha taking the report "out of context and presenting it to the public to sensationalise the situation for his political end is highly unethical." The incident is just one of many examples of human rights violations in Ethiopia in recent times.

The Crown Council of Ethiopia
Main article: Monarchies of Ethiopia
The Crown Council of Ethiopia is the constitutional body which advises the reigning Emperors of Ethiopia, acts on behalf of the Crown and the council’s members are appointed by the Emperor.

The Ethiopian monarchy currently has no power in the Ethiopian government, but Ethiopian royalists continue to operate the Crown Council. On March 16, 2005, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie was reconfirmed by Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie as President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia. Zera Yacob Amha Selassie is considered Emperor in Exile of Ethiopia.

Geography

Map of Ethiopia.Main article: Geography of Ethiopia
At 435,071 square miles (1,127,127 km², Ethiopia is the world's 27th-largest country (after Colombia). It is comparable in size to Bolivia, and is a third smaller than the US state of Alaska.

The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa, which is the eastern-most part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia is Sudan to the west, Djibouti and Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a massive highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands, steppes, or semi-desert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns.

Climate and ecology
Elevation and geographic location produce three climatic zones: the cool zone above 2,400 meters (7,900 ft) where temperatures range from near freezing to 16°C (32°–61°F); the temperate zone at elevations of 1,500 to 2,400 meters (4,900–7,900 ft) with temperatures from 16°C to 30°C (61°–86°F); and the hot zone below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) with both tropical and arid conditions and daytime temperatures ranging from 27°C to 50°C (81°–122°F). The normal rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September (longer in the southern highlands) preceded by intermittent showers from February or March; the remainder of the year is generally dry.

Ethiopian Highlands with Ras Dashan in the background.Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the Gelada Baboon, the Walia Ibex and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox).

Deforestation
Main article: Environmental issues in Ethiopia
Deforestation is a major concern for Ethiopia as studies suggest loss of forest contributes to soil erosion, loss of nutrients in the soil, loss of animal habitats and reduction in biodiversity. At the beginning of the Twentieth century around 42 million hectares or 35 percent of Ethiopia’s land was covered by trees but recent research indicates that forest cover is now approximately 11.9 percent of the area].

Ethiopia loses an estimated 141,000 hectares of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 2.1 million hectares.

Current government programs to control deforestation consist of education, promoting reforestation programs and providing alternate raw material to timber. In rural areas the government also provides non-timber fuel sources and access to non-forested land to promote agriculture without destroying forest habitat.

Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the federal government and local governments to create a system of forest management[35]. Working with a grant of approximately 2.3 million Euros the Ethiopian government recently began training people on reducing erosion and using proper irrigation techniques that do not contribute to deforestation. This project is assisting more than 80 communities.

Administrative divisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Ethiopia
Before 1996, Ethiopia was divided into thirteen provinces, many derived from historical regions. Ethiopia now has a tiered government system consisting of a federal government overseeing ethnically-based regional states, zones, districts (woredas), and neighborhoods (kebele).

Ethiopia is divided into nine ethnically-based administrative regions (kililoch, sing. kilil) and subdivided into sixty-eight zones and two chartered cities (astedader akababiwoch, sing. astedader akababi): Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa (subdivisions 1 and 5 in the map, respectively). It is further subdivided into 550 woredas and six special woredas.

The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states that can establish their own government and democracy according to the federal government's constitution. Each region has its appex regional council where members are directly elected to represent the districts and the council has legislative and excutive power to direct internal affairs of the regions. Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution further gives every regional state the right to secede from Ethiopia. There is debate, however, as to how much of the power guaranteed in the constitution is actually given to the states.

The councils implement their mandate through an executive committee and regional sectoral bureaus. Such elaborate structure of council, executive, and sectoral public institutions is replicated to the next level (woreda).

The regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia, numbered alphabeticallyThe nine regions and two chartered cities are:

1 Addis Ababa
2 Afar
3 Amhara
4 Benishangul-Gumaz
5 Dire Dawa
6 Gambela
7 Harari
8 Oromia
9 Somali
10 SNNPR*
11 Tigray

Chartered cities shown in italics.
* Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region.

Economy

Woman coffee farmer filling cups with coffee in EthiopiaMain article: Economy of Ethiopia
In 1972 and 1973, more than 200,000 people died in the Wallo famine. The Emperor Haile Selassie tried to hide the famine but university students revealed the drought to the world. [36] After the 1974 revolution, the economy of Ethiopia was run as Command economy. Stronger state controls were implemented, and a large part of the economy was transferred to the public sector, including all agricultural land and urban rental property, and all financial institutions. The bad weather also continued to harm the agriculture sector. However since Mengistu Haile Mariam's relationship with the west was bad, the government hid the famine in Tigray and Wallo region causing the death of more than 250,000 Ethiopians. When the government finally allowed UN workers to witness the condition, one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade was revealed. Together with a flawed relocation project and the Red Terror around 1,500,000 Ethiopians were killed under Mengistu Haile Mariam.[37] Also six million people were affected by further famine before the EPRDF-led government overthrew the Derg regime.[38] After that, a lot of economic reforms were carried out. Since mid-1991, the economy has evolved toward a decentralized, market-oriented economy, emphasizing individual initiative, which was intended to reverse a decade of economic decline. In 1993, gradual privatization of business, industry, banking, agriculture, trade, and commerce was underway.

Nevertheless, Ethiopia is still privatized. Many government owned properties during the previous regime have now been transferred to these EPRDF owned enterprises in the name of privatization. Furthermore, the Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to "the state and the people," but citizens may only lease land (up to 99 years), and are unable to mortgage, sell, or own it.

Agriculture accounts for almost 41 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the labour force. Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly of a subsistence nature, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include coffee, pulses (e.g., beans), oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables. Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia's livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa, and as of 1987 accounted for about 15 percent of the GDP.

Demographics

Schoolboys in western Oromia, Ethiopia.Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigray make up more than three-quarters of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.

Ethiopians and Eritreans, especially Semitic-speaking ones, collectively refer to themselves as Habesha or Abesha, though others reject these names on the basis that they refer only to certain ethnicities. The Arabic form of this term (Al-Habesh) is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia," the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.

According to the Ethiopian national census of 1994, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia at 32.1%. The Amhara represent 30.2%, while the Tigray people are 6.2% of the population. Other ethnic groups are as follows: Somali 6.0%, Gurage 4.3%, Sidama 3.4%, Wolayta 2%, Afar 2%, Hadiya 2%, Gamo 1%.

Electricity

Ethiopia, whose population is expected to swell from 75 million to more than 100 million by 2015, plans to light up the entire country in the next eight years, the head of the Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) said on Wednesday.
Across Africa costly blackouts, strained power supplies and patchy electrification frequently plunge the world's poorest continent into darkness, stifling much-needed development.

EEPCO General Manager Mihert Debebe said a combination of hydro, geothermal and wind power generation projects, plus distribution and transmission programmes would help Ethiopia achieve its ambitious goal.

The Horn of Africa country produces 800 MW of electricity from hydropower dams, reaching 19 percent of the 75 million population.

"By 2010, the country will be able to generate over 4,000 MW of power and install 135,000 km of distribution lines as well as 12,000 km of high voltage networks to electrify 6,000 towns and villages providing access to electric power to over 50 percent of the country's population," Mihert told reporters.

The construction of five hydropower dams, including Tekeze with a capacity of 300 MW, Gellgele Gibe 2 with a capacity of 420 MW and Belesse with a capacity of 435 MW was expected to be completed by 2010, Mihert said.

"The construction of geothermal and wind power generation in addition to hydropower dams during the next eight years will help achieve total electrification of the country by 2015," he added.

The cost of building the dams, which runs into billions of dollars, would be met by the state, the World Bank and loans from international financial institutions, Mihert said without giving any further details.

Languages
Main article: Languages of Ethiopia
Ethiopia has eighty-four indigenous languages. Some of these are:

Afar
Amharic
Anfillo
Berto
Bussa
Hadiya
Harari
Konso
Ongota
Oromo
Saho
Soddo
Silt'e
Somali
Tigrinya
Sidama
Wolaita
Gurage
Gamo
Goffa

English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is the medium of instruction in secondary schools. Amharic was the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya.

Religion

This leather painting depicts Ethiopian Orthodox priests playing sistra and a drum.According to the most recent 1994 National Census[41], Christians make up 61% of the country's population, Muslims 33%, and adherents of traditional faiths 5%. However, other sources such as the CIA WorldFactbook shows Muslims between 45-50% and Christians at 35-40% [43]. Orthodox Christianity has a dominant presence in central and northern Ethiopia, while both Orthodox & Protestant Christianity has large representations in the South and Western Ethiopia. A small ancient group of Jews, the Beta Israel, live in northwestern Ethiopia, though most have emigrated to Israel in the last decades of the twentieth century as part of the rescue missions undertaken by the Israeli government, Operation Moses and Operation Solomon.

An ancient Ethiopian Islamic manuscript.Sometimes Christianity in Africa is thought of as a European import that arrived with colonialism, but this is not the case with Ethiopia. The Kingdom of Aksum was one of the first nations to officially adopt Christianity, when St. Frumentius of Tyre, called Fremnatos or Abba Selama ("Father of Peace") in Ethiopia, converted King Ezana during the fourth century AD. Many believe that the Gospel had entered Ethiopia even earlier, with the royal official described as being baptised by Philip the Evangelist in chapter nine of the Acts of the Apostles. Today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, part of Oriental Orthodoxy, is by far the largest denomination, though a number of Protestant (Pentay) churches and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church have recently gained ground. Since the eighteenth century there has existed a relatively small Uniate Ethiopian Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, with adherents making up less than 1% of the total population.

The name "Ethiopia" (Hebrew Kush) is mentioned in the Bible numerous times (thirty-seven times in the King James version), and is in many ways considered a holy place. Ethiopia is also mentioned many times in the Qu'ran and Hadith. While most Ethiopians accept that these are references to their own ancient civilisation, pointing out that the Gihon river, a name for the Nile, is said to flow through the land, most modern scholars believe that the use of the term referred to the Kingdom of Kush in particular or Africa outside of Egypt in general. Some have argued[citation needed] that biblical Kush was a large part of land that included Northern Ethiopia, Eritrea and most of present day Sudan.

An traditional Ethiopian depiction of Jesus and Mary with distinctively "Ethiopian" features.Islam in Ethiopia dates back to the founding of the religion; in 615, when a band of Muslims were counseled by the Prophet Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia, which was ruled by a pious Christian king. Moreover, Islamic tradition states that Bilal, one of the foremost companions of the Prophet Muhammad, was from Ethiopia.

There are numerous indigenous African religions in Ethiopia, mainly located in the far southwest and western borderlands. In general, most of the (largely members of the non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) Christians generally live in the highlands, while Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to inhabit more lowland regions in the east and south of the country.

Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, whose adherents believe Ethiopia is Zion. The Rastafari view Emperor Haile Selassie I as Jesus, the human incarnation of God, a view apparently not shared by Haile Selassie I himself, who was staunchly Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. The concept of Zion is also prevalent among Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, though it represents a separate and complex concept, referring figuratively to St. Mary, but also to Ethiopia as a bastion of Christianity surrounded by Muslims and other religions, much like Mount Zion in the bible. It is also used to refer to Axum, the ancient capital and religious centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, or to its primary church, called Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.

The Baha'i Faith has had roots in Ethiopia dating from the 1950s, and today is concentrated primarily in Addis Ababa, but also in the suburbs of Yeka, Kirkos and Nefas Silk Lafto.

See also: Islam in Ethiopia, Beta Israel, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, P'ent'ay, and Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church

Culture
Main article: Culture of Ethiopia

Cuisine
Main article: Ethiopian cuisine

Typical Ethiopian cuisine: Injera (pancake-like bread) and several kinds of wat (stew).The best known Ethiopian cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entrees, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses injera to scoop up the entrees and side dishes. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork or shellfish of any kind, as both Muslims, Jews, and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are prohibited from eating either. It is also very common to eat from the same big dish in the center of the table with a group of people.

Music
Main article: Music of Ethiopia

Mahmoud Ahmed, an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry, in 2005.The Music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of the country's 80 ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Ethiopian music uses a unique modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes. Influences include ancient Christian elements and Muslim and folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Sudan and Somalia. Popular musicians included Aster Aweke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse, Asnaketch Worku, Gigi and Mulatu Astatke.

Sports
Ethiopia has some of the finest athletes of the world, most notably middle-distance and long-distance runners. Kenya and Morocco are often its opponents in World Championships and Olympic middle and long-distance events. As of March 2006, two Ethiopians dominate the long-distance running scene, mainly: Haile Gebreselassie (World champion and Olympic champion) who has set over twenty new world records and currently holds the 20 km, half-marathon and 25 km world record, and young Kenenisa Bekele (World champion, World cross country champion, and Olympic champion), who holds the 5,000 m and 10,000 m world records.

Other notable Ethiopian distance-runners include Derartu Tulu, Abebe Bikila and Miruts Yifter. Derartu Tulu was the first Ethiopian woman from Africa to win an Olympic gold medal, doing so over 10,000 metres at Barcelona. Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon in 1960 and 1964, setting world records both times. He is well-known to this day for winning the 1960 marathon in Rome while running barefoot. Miruts Yifter, the first in a tradition of Ethiopians known for their brilliant finishing speed, won gold at 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the Moscow Olympics. He is the last man to achieve this feat.

Another great Ethiopian athlete is Coty Hubbard. He came to America and lives in New Hampshire, the 5'10" 60 pound Ethiopian plays futbol, basketball, and baseball, a first for an Ethiopian.

Archaeology
Ethiopia offers a greater richness in archaeological finds and historical buildings than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Sudan). In April 2005, the Axum obelisk, one of Ethiopia's religious and historical treasures, was returned to Ethiopia by Italy.[46] Under the orders of dictator Benito Mussolini, Italian troops seized the obelisk in 1937 and took it to Rome. Italy agreed to return the obelisk in 1947 in a UN agreement, and it was finally returned in 2005. There have been plenty of significant discoveries including the oldest complete human fossil, Lucy. Other discoveries are still being made.

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