Ethiopia is a republic in northeastern Africa, officially known as "The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia." Addis Ababa is Ethiopia's capital and largest city. Eritrea and Djibouti are it's northeast bordering countries, Somalia borders Ethiopia on the east and southeast sides, Kenya is on the southwest, and Sudan is on the west and northwest borders. Ethiopia covers an area of 437,600 miles. The majority of Ethiopia is a high plateau capped with rugged mountains; lowland deserts surround the plateau region.
Ethiopia was formerly known as "Abyssinia" until the 20th century; Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in African. The Amhara, were the founders of the original nation, and the related Tigrayans; which are both ancestors of the Semitic region, comprise 32 percent of the total population. In 1997, there was an estimated 57,098,762 people living in Ethiopia, which yielded an overall density of 130 per square mile. The Amhara and Tigrayans occupy the northwestern highlands and an area north of Addis Ababa. The Oromo, a pastoral and agricultural people who live mainly in central and southwestern Ethiopia, comprise about 40 percent of the population. The Shangalla (of the east) and the Somali (of the west); each constitute about 6 percent of the population. The Denakil, Yemenis, Indians, Armenians, and Greeks are all smaller groups of population, which comprise the remaining 16 percent of the Ethiopian land.
Ethiopia is one of Africa's smallest countries that are afflicted with famine. Ever since the Ethiopian famine of the early 1980's, warfare and weather have created an enduring string of "exceptional food emergencies" in Sub-Saharan, the least agriculturally endowed region of the world. In an average year, Africa's countries (like Ethiopia) receives half of the international food assistance that is contri
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