Ethiopia tidbits

Ethiopia is located on the Horn of Africa, the size of France and Spain combined. It is surrounded by the countries of Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan. The capital city is Addis Ababa (new flower).

Northern Ethiopia has been greatly influenced by ancient Egypt, the Middle East, and Greece. Southern Ethiopia is more typically African.

Life expectancy:
males--39
females--42

The leading causes of death are communicable diseases such as malaria, typhoid, meningitis, cholera, yellow fever, TB, and HIV. Women have an average of 7 children. The maternal mortality rate is 1:14 (one in 14 women will die in child birth).

Geography: Ethiopia is a land of dramatic natural contrast. Altitudes range from the lowest point on the African continent to its 4th highest peak. The lowest place on the African continent is the Denkali Depression-- a desert area that is one of the hottest and driest places on earth.

Birr is the national currency. Credit cards are not used unless you are in a large western hotel.

Food: The most common staple in an Ethiopian's diet is a stew or "wat". Wat is made from meat and vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onion, usually spiced with berbere. The wat is accompanied by a flat, spongy, sour bread called injera. It is made from the indigenous grain Teff. Teff is the smallest grain in the world.

Language: There are 83 languages with more than 200 dialects. Amharic is the official language.

Religion:
Christian Ethiopian Orthodox 35-40%
Muslim 45-50%
Animistic 12%

Calendar: Ethiopia uses the Julian Calendar with 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days. This means they are 7 years and 8 months behind the western calendar. They celebrated the Ethiopian millenium in September!