Regional Geography
of Ethiopia
Outline
- Physical Characteristics
- Relative location
- Landscape and Physical
Environment
- Weather and climate
- Human Characteristics
- Population, Density and
Age/Sex characteristics
- Language and religion
- Cultural/ethnic groups
- Economic Characteristics
- Major economic
activities
- Imports and Exports
- GNP and GNP per capita
- References
Physical
Characteristics
Relative
location
The
Independent Republic of Ethiopia sits landlocked in northeast Africa in what is
considered by many, the “Horn of Africa” or Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia shares
borders with Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan, and South
Sudan.
Landscape
and Physical Environment
Most
of Ethiopia consist of volcanic remnants that have formed over time to what is
now labeled as the Ethiopian highlands (mountains). Splitting from the
highlands you will find the Great Rift Valley which consists of low to
semi-desert terrain that flow to some of earths lowest points in what is called
the Danakil depression (desert). Ethiopia receives much of its rainfall in the
highland mountain ranges of the Simien (North) and Bale mountains (South).
There are four main river systems, with the Blue Nile being the largest.
Scattered throughout are many lakes that play an important role in daily life,
Lake Tana being the most important (Briggs pg. 3).
Weather
and Climate
When
it comes to climate, Ethiopia has a wide variety, given it has both mountains
(13,000 ft) and one of the lowest points on earth (450 ft) below see level.
Ethiopia typically gets split into five climates. In the Bereha you have hot,
dry desert lowlands. In the Kolla you have warm to hot with high rainfall.
Weyna Dega is warm and even cool climate and consists of both plentiful rainfall
as well as supported forest. In the Dega you have cool to cold with moderate
rainfall (8,000 ft). Lastly the Worch which has low rainfall totals and is considered
a chilly climate. Rain season occurs typically during June to October. The
further south you go the more delayed rainy season occurs. Overall, the average
rainfall per year is about 79 inches (Briggs pg. 3-4).
Human
Characteristics
Population,
Density, and Age/Sex characteristics
Information taken
directly from the population reference bureau shows that most recently
Ethiopia’s total population ranks second in all of Africa with nearly 112
million people. Recent data shows 20% of the population live in urban areas
(2019). Overall, there are 33 births per 1,000 people occurring and 52 infant
deaths before age one per 1,000 people.
In the
graphics above you see the split between male and female by age. As you can see
more boys are born as supposed to girls and the overall population is much
greater for individuals under the age of 50. You can also determine from the
PRB data that men have a much lower life expectancy (64) compared to women (68).
Language and
Religion
While there are
over 80 languages and over 200 dialects spoken in Ethiopia, only one can be the
national language, and that is Amharic. According to Nevins (2016) only 34% of
the people in Ethiopia speak it. In other words, language is very diverse in
this country. Its not uncommon to speak several languages out of necessity.
In the
above graphic is a breakdown of the diverse religions in Ethiopia. Christianity
and Islam dominate the religious group in the North and West while Catholicism
and Protestants are more dominate in the South. The religion of Islam is more
prominent in the East.
Cultural and
Ethnic Groups
According to
Nevins (2016) family is important to Ethiopian culture. The average household
is nearly twice the size of those here in America. This may be related to fears
of death by famine or disease. Some families are nuclear and some extended.
They are highly patriarchal, with women being of greater importance it seems in
maintaining a home. Men are far more labor intensive, but both play a role.
Elders are treated highly in this culture. Given the diversity in culture there
is no single way of life for Ethiopians.
The above
graphic displays the percentage of ethnic groups that are present within the
current population. The people of Oromo have showed their influence over time
spent researching Ethiopia.
Economic Characteristics
Major
Economic Activities
There
is no other economic activity more important in Ethiopia than Agriculture. The
Brandt guide states that all phases of agriculture are done by hand as well as
using subsistence farming as supposed to larger operations (47). Ethiopia
provides a stark change in climates that support agriculture therefore they
struggle with drought, famine, and disease. Livestock seems to be of great
importance as it supports at least a quarter of their total Ag economy. Cotton,
horticulture, khat (natural stimulant), corn, wheat, barley, and millet are a
few others. There is also a small mining industry focused on mining tantalum
and gold.
Imports
and Exports
According
to The Observatory of Economic Complexity by Alexander Simoes, the single most
important export and product in Ethiopia as well as the 5th most
production in the world is coffee, followed by oily seeds, flower plants, other
dried plants, and Gold. When it comes to Imports, Ethiopia runs on a negative
trade balance of 935 million as of 2017. Their largest imports are machinery
like planes, helicopters and spacecraft followed by gas turbines.
GNP
and GNP per capita
Nearly
80% of labor force comes from Agriculture related activities. It is responsible
for 45% of the GNP and 84% of exports. Overall, the purchasing power of
Ethiopians is considered to be in the lowest totals of countries in the world.
The Sub-Saharan region of Africa is considered one of the poorest areas in the
world.
References
Briggs, P. (2019). Bradt travel guide:
Ethiopia (8th ed.). UK: Bradt Travel Guides Ltd.
“Data Center: International Indicators.” Population
Reference Bureau, 15 Apr. 2020, www.prb.org/international/geography/ethiopia.
Harrison, Dan. “Ethiopia.” OEC, oec.world/en/profile/country/eth/.
Nevins, D., Thay, W., &
Latif, Z. A. (2016). Ethiopia [3rd ed.] (3rd ed.). New York,
NY: Cavendish Square Publishing LLC.
The World Factbook: Ethiopia. (2018, February 1). Retrieved
from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html
“2019 World Population Data Sheet.” Population
Reference Bureau, 4 Sept. 2019, www.prb.org/worldpopdata/.
Submitted by Nate W. on 4/17/2020.