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Ethiopia
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Ethiopia
Travelling in Ethiopia won't be
everyone's cup of shai: there's not much tourist infrastructure
here, and checking your email rivals carrier pigeon for speed. But
the landscape is splendid, the people are welcoming, the sense of
history is tangible and you won't have to worry about crowds of
tourists.
You'll soon see that there's far
more to the place than famine and misery. Ethiopia is just about the
only country in Africa never to have been colonised, and its people
have a proud tradition of fighting for their independence. The pride
is justified.
The country is also unusual for
its rich Orthodox Christian heritage, which the Ethiopians
maintained even when all its neighbours embraced Islam in the 7th
century. If you still don't get it, let's tell it the way it is:
Ethiopia is arguably Africa's best kept secret.
Travel within 20km of the Eritrean
border in the Tigray and Afar regions - a military zone -should be
avoided. The border itself is permanently closed. Car hijackings are
known to occur in the south. Ethnic tensions dog the west of the
country.
Full country name: Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia
Area: 1.09 million sq km
Population: 64 million
People: Oromo (54%), Amhara (24%), Tigrayan (5%), Sidama, Somali,
Harari, Afar, Gurage
Language: Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Arabic,
Religion: Muslim, Ethiopian Orthodox, animist
Government: federal republic
Head of State: President Girma Wolde-Giorgis
Head of Government: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
GDP: US$50.6 billion
GDP per capita: US$750
Inflation: 14%
Major Industries: Agriculture, forestry, agricultural processing,
textiles
Major Trading Partners: USA, Germany, Japan, Italy
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