Erin,+Ellie+Ethiopia+4A

ETHIOPIA 

** Did You Know??? ** ** ﻿ ** - ﻿Lucy, one of the oldest fossilized hominids ever found, was discovered in Ethiopia. The fossil is nearly 3.2 million years old. -The latitude is 9.02 and the longitude is 38.42. -Education is not yet required for the citizens. Less than half of school-aged children are enrolled. -Girls attend schools even less than boys. -Adjusted for Women: the 144th country out of 155. This means that there are 143 countries that are more adjusted to women’s needs than Ethiopia. -It is the 14th most populated country in the world. - HIV and AIDS are major infectious diseases in Ethiopia, along with typhoid fever, malaria, rabies, hepatitis A and E and others. -It has a population growth rate of about 3%. -There is 1 medical doctor for every 100,000 people. -In Ethiopia, you cannot own land. The government owns all land but rents it to the public on long-term loans. -The constitution was ratified on December 8, 1994, but did not take effect until August 5th of the next year (1995). -In Ethiopia's western lowlands, temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. -Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in Africa; it was formerly called Abyssinia. **Flag:**  Green - The country’s abundance Yellow - Religious freedom Red - Blood spilt for country Star’s Ray’s - Equality and promising future for Ethiopia Blue Background (behind star) - Democracy and peace

**Comparison Table:** Density || GDP per Capita || Life Expectancy Male || Life Expectancy Female || Birth Rate per 1000 || Infant Mortality <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Rate <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">per 1000 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Literacy Rate || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Size of Country (Square Miles) || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Population || //GDP- The Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDP per capita) is the amount of exported products per person. One reason the GDP is much lower than the USA's<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 290%;"> might be because education of any kind is rare. The low amount of education might lower the quality and amount of products, therefore lowering the GDP//. //Infant Mortality Rate and Life Expectancy- The living conditions are not sanitary, which is one of the reasons that causes many more peopleto contract infectious diseases than normally would. Furthermore, the ratio of doctors to people is significantly not enough to cover the entire population, even if the average Ethiopian could afford health care.// //Literacy Rate- The low literacy rate is most likely because school is not required. Farming is very typical amoung the Ethiopian people, and many families would probably ask their children to stay home and help out. Women's literacy rate is even lower, which is probably because Ethiopia is the 144th country out of 155 total countries that are somewhat adjusted to women.// **History:** Ethiopia, or Abyssinia as it was anciently known, is the oldest independent nation in Africa. Some legends say that Ethiopians are descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Ethiopia converted to Christianity in the 4th century, but by the 1300's the neighboring Islamic countries began wars against Ethiopia. Ethiopia was finally defeated in the 16th century by the Ottoman Turks. In the next century, Islam became a more prominent religion and gained influence in this Christian country. By 1885, Italy started to colonize the coasts around Ethiopia. When they attempted to conquer more lands futher into Africa, they were defeated by Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menilek the 2nd in the year 1896. There was tension between the countries until the 1930's. By 1935, the Italian army had successfully defeated and occupied Ethiopia. Emperor <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">Haile Selassie I took the throne from Empress Zawditu with the help of Britain, and his rule lasted until 1974. His rule collapsed because of economic and political turmoil. A year later, he passed away and the country was declared a socialist state called the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Mengistu Haile-Mariam came to power in 1977. He faced several problems, which eventually led to his political downfall in 1991. A civil war broke out by 1961 and on top of this, a communist economy took place in Ethiopia in the 1980's. The communist economy, the Civil War, and the poor harvests led to immense and devastating famines for the Ethiopian people.The Marxist economy was eventually overturned for these reasons. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A new leader came into the picture in 1995. His name is Meles Zenawi, and became the new prime minister. Under his leadership, Ethiopia was renamed as <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea grew even more strained around 1997, caused by a border dispute and also because Eritrea stopped using the birr as their national currency. This eventually led to a war, killing more than 100,000 people. In 2000, a peace treaty ended the war, although the struggle of the border dispute has not been solved since.
 * <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Nation || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Region || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Population
 * <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Ethiopia || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Africa (East Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa) || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">206.423 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">$779 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">53 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">56 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">43.34 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">81 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">37% || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">426,373 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">88,013,491 ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">USA || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">North America || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">81.767 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">$45,592 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">77 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">81 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">13.83 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">6 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">99% || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">3,794,100 || <span style="display: block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">310,232,863 ||

**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Economic Summary: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Ethiopian economy is based largely on agriculture (almost 43%), and at least half of the income is from coffee. 90% of all the land in Ethiopia is workable, which helps to support the economy. Farmers grow crops such as coffee, teff, millet, pulse, barely and chat. The economy is in a very poor state currently because of the famines, droughts, the eroding soil, war, and other events of that nature. A smaller export is animal hides, some gold, live animals, and oilseeds. Also, 43% of <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> the exports depend on services, and 13% on industry. Ethiopia does not export any electricity whatsoever, and none is imported. No oil or natural gas is exported or imported, much like electricity in their country. They are trade partners with China, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Languages:** Ethiopians speak Amharic, a semitic language related to the Hebrew and Arabic languages. Amharic is the official national language, but other languages spoken include Somali, Guraginya, Arabic, and more than 80 different languages. Although a large variety of languages are spoken, Amharic and Oromifaa and the most commonly used. Ge'ez is the ancient sabian language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and is used in prayer or worship. English is taught in secondary schools, and only the privileged can speak it. The rulers of Ethiopia adopted Christianity in 332 AD, although it isn't as large as Islam or the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. 45% of the population follows the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 35% of the population is Muslim, and the other 20% is Christian. Other religions in Ethiopia include Catholicism or Protestant.
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The voting age is, like the United States, 18 years old. The Parliament's upper chamber, the Federal Council (which includes 108 members) is elected by state assemblies. The lower chamber, the Council of People's Representatives (547 members) is elected by popular vote of Ethiopian citizens. Representatives in both bodies each serve five-year terms. Parliaments dominant party selects the Prime Minister. There are two self-governing administrations: Addis Abba and Dire Dawa. Each has its own Parliament and Council of Ministers, but are ultimately one government, unlike the USA's government, which instead of parliament, has a House of Representatives, a Senate and a president. Besides the two administrations, there are 9 states (ethnically based) opposed to the United States of America's 50 states. Another similarity in the two governments is that Ethiopia and the USA are technically federal republics, however the US has strong democratic traditions. Although the governments are currently alike, Ethiopia was an empire before the year 1995. The Prime Minister is Meles Zenawi. The ceremonial President is Girma Woldegiorgis, who was elected for a 6 year term. They were elected through representatives in the parliament.
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The currency in Ethiopia is the Birr. One U.S. dollar is worth 11.86 Birrs. One current problem in Ethiopia is illegal drug trafficking. Illicit drugs such as heroine or cocaine usually come from Southwest or Southeast Asia and are eventually passed on to Europe. In 2006, Ethiopian troops were led into the nearby country of Somalia to assist them in their campaign against the Union of Islamic Courts and troops loyal to it. In January of 2009, Ethiopia announced the withdrawal of their troops from the dispute. **Google Earth Tour:**
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