Ethiopia (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), a landlocked state in the Horn of Africa, is one of the most ancient countries in the world. It is the second most populous nation in Africa with over 80.2 million people and the tenth largest by area. The capital is Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is bordered by Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, Eritrea to the north, and Sudan and South Sudan to the west.
Though most African countries are far less than a century old, Ethiopia has been an independent country since ancient times. A monarchical state for most of its history, the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 10th century BC. Besides being an ancient country, Ethiopia is one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today—having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces, it might be the place where Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. When Africa was divided up by European powers at the Berlin Conference, Ethiopia was one of only two countries that retained its independence. It was one of only three African members of the League of Nations, and after a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
The Modern Ethiopian state, and its current borders, are a result of significant territorial reduction in the north and expansion in the south, toward its present borders, owing to several migrations and commercial integration as well as conquests, particularly by
Emperor Menelik II and
Ras Gobena. In 1974, the dynasty led by
Haile Selassie was overthrown as civil wars intensified. Since then, Ethiopia has been a
secular state with a variety of governmental systems. Today, Addis Ababa is still the site of the headquarters of the
African Union and
UNECA. The country has arguably one of the most powerful militaries in Africa. Eritrea and Ethiopia are the only African countries with their own alphabet. Ethiopia also has its own time system and unique calendar, seven to eight years behind the Gregorian Calendar. It has the largest number of
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.
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