Ethiopia overview
Ethiopia lies in Eastern Africa, part of Africa. The long form of the name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The capital is Addis Ababa.
Some 132.1 million people call it home, placing it 10th of 249 by population — between Russia above it and Mexico below. Within Eastern Africa alone it is the 1st largest of 20 and the 1st most populous.
Its territory runs to 1,104,300 km², which ranks it 28th of the 249 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Colombia and just ahead of Bolivia. That makes it a fraction smaller than Colombia.
How Ethiopia reaches the sea
Ethiopia has no coastline of its own, so every ship-borne import and export crosses somebody else's border first. The good news is that the sea is only one frontier away: Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti have coastline, which makes them the obvious routes for freight heading to a port.
That geography has practical consequences. Landlocked countries carry higher freight costs than coastal ones because goods change hands, transport mode and jurisdiction more often, and because a neighbour's road, rail or customs problem becomes Ethiopia's problem too. It is also why transit agreements with bordering states, and access to their ports, tend to matter more in Ethiopia's foreign policy than the distance on a map would suggest.
Of the countries on Ethiopia's borders, South Sudan is landlocked as well, so a route in that direction only moves the problem along. The remaining borders are the ones that lead, eventually, to salt water.
Coastal countries on the border:
Ethiopia and its neighbours, side by side
Ethiopia has 6 land neighbours, holding 142,538,791 people across 3,864,637 km² between them. Here is how each one measures up.
| Neighbour | Population | Area (km²) | vs Ethiopia by area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudan | 50,448,963 | 1,886,068 | 1.7× larger |
| Somalia | 19,009,151 | 637,657 | 1.7× smaller |
| South Sudanlandlocked | 11,943,408 | 619,745 | 1.8× smaller |
| Kenya | 56,432,944 | 580,367 | 1.9× smaller |
| Eritrea | 3,535,603 | 117,600 | 9.4× smaller |
| Djibouti | 1,168,722 | 23,200 | 48× smaller |
By area the largest neighbour is Sudan and the smallest is Djibouti; by population Kenya is the heaviest presence on the border. Taken together the neighbours hold more people than Ethiopia does, which is the usual situation for a country with several borders and rarely a comfortable one.
Ethiopia at a glance
- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Population
- 132,059,767
- Area
- 1,104,300 km²
- Region
- Eastern Africa, Africa
- Languages
- Amharic
- Currency
- Ethiopian birr (ETB)
- Calling code
- +251
- Internet TLD
- .et
- People per km²
- 120
How Ethiopia sits on the globe
Plotted on a globe it falls at 8.0° north, 38.0° east, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 891 km from the equator, in what geographers would call the equatorial belt.
Follow that same latitude east or west and you reach Venezuela, Ivory Coast and Ghana — places that share its distance from the equator but little else.
It borders 6 neighbours: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. The largest of them by area is Sudan, while the most populous is Kenya. Together those neighbours hold about 142.5 million people.
It has no sea coast of its own. That is true of 45 of the 249 entries here, and it means every shipment in or out has to cross someone else's border first. One of its neighbours, South Sudan, is landlocked too. You can see the full picture on the landlocked countries page.
Where Ethiopia is on the map
The map below is centred on Ethiopia at roughly 8.00°, 38.00°. Pan and zoom to see how it sits against its surroundings — the shape of a country's borders explains a surprising amount about its history.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Population and languages of Ethiopia
Density comes out at around 120 people per square kilometre, which makes it more crowded than the typical entry on this list. Half the entries in this dataset fall below roughly 91 per square kilometre.
Officially it is monolingual: Amharic. No other entry in this dataset lists Amharic, so on this list it stands alone.
The demonym is Ethiopian, so residents are Ethiopians.
Inside Africa it places 2nd of 59 by population, and it accounts for 27% of everyone living in Eastern Africa.
Ethiopia within Eastern Africa
Within Eastern Africa, Ethiopia is the most populous of the 20 entries this site lists, and the largest by area as well. Tanzania is next in line by population.
Every entry in Eastern Africa has its own guide here, so if you want to work through the whole neighbourhood rather than one country at a time, Tanzania is the place to carry on.
Currency and codes
The currency is the Ethiopian birr (Br, ETB). That currency appears nowhere else on this list.
Addis Ababa is the city to remember for this country.
Its internet country code is .et. Calls from overseas start with +251. In ISO terms it is et in two letters and ETH in three.
As a sovereign state it is among the 192 UN members listed here. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 249 rather than the familiar 195.
Money and language in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian birr (ETB) is used only in Ethiopia among the 249 entries on this site. Its own currency is one of the clearest markers of an economy that sets its own monetary policy rather than importing somebody else's.
Amharic is listed for Ethiopia and for no other entry on this site. A language confined to one country is unusual, and it is normally a sign of long isolation or of deliberate revival.
Fun facts about Ethiopia
- It is landlocked, one of 45 entries here with no coastline of its own.
- In land area it is a fraction smaller than Colombia.
- Venezuela and Ivory Coast sit at almost the same latitude, on the far side of the globe.
- Its capital city is Addis Ababa.
- Ranked by land area, Ethiopia is 28th out of the 249 countries and territories on this site.
- It is 10th of 249 by population, with about 132.1 million residents.
Ethiopia — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Ethiopia?
- The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.
- What is the population of Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia has a population of about 132.1 million, which makes it the 10th most populous of the 249 countries and territories listed on this site. Russia sits just above it and Mexico just below.
- What language is spoken in Ethiopia?
- The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic. No other entry on this list gives it official status.
- What currency does Ethiopia use?
- Ethiopia uses the Ethiopian birr, written Br (currency code ETB). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- Where is Ethiopia located?
- Ethiopia is in Eastern Africa, part of Africa. Its reference coordinates are 8.0° north and 38.0° east, roughly 891 km from the equator in equatorial latitudes.
- Which countries border Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia borders 6 countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Sudan is the largest of them by area.
- Is Ethiopia a country?
- Yes. Ethiopia is a sovereign state and one of the 192 UN members listed on this site.
- Is Ethiopia landlocked?
- Yes. Ethiopia has no sea coast, which makes it one of 45 landlocked entries in this dataset. Everything it imports or exports by sea has to cross a neighbour's territory first, and that transit dependency is a well-documented drag on trade costs.
- How big is Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km², ranking 28th of 249 by land area. That makes it a fraction smaller than Colombia.
