Ethiopia is located in the Horn of
Africa, bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west,
Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the
northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 kmę with an estimated population
of over 85,000,000. It is one of oldest countries in the world
and the second most populous in Africa - only second to Nigeria.
The population is diverse and has more than 70 different
languages. The dominant ethnic group in Ethiopia is the Oromo
(40%), followed by the Amhara (30%), and Tigray (6%).
Ethiopia has the most number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in
Africa and is famous for its rock-hewn churches, structures that
tell the long history about Ethiopia. Ethiopian news is dominated
by achievements of its world famous distance athletes. Ethiopia's
well-know distance runners include Abebe Bekila, Mamo Woldie,
Haile Gebresilassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Deratu Tulu, and Tirunesh
Dibaba. It is difficult not to include such athletes when talking
about Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is the origin of the coffee bean, and Africa's largest
coffee producer. Coffee is Ethiopia's number one export and the
source of most of it foreign currency. Some 12 million Ethiopians
depend on coffee and related industries. Coffee is an integral
part of Ethiopian culture and about Ethiopia.
The headquarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) is in Addis Ababa, often labeled Africa's "Diplomatic
Capital," as is the headquarters of the African Union (formerly
the Organization of African Unity), of which Ethiopia was the
principal founder.
Ethiopia is also known for being one of the poorest and least
developed countries in the world. For much of the past several
decades, the country depended on food aid to feed part of its
population. The country faced some significant droughts and
famine in the last half century. Latest trends are, however,
encouraging. For much of the last decade, the country's economy
has been growing 5-12% a year.
The government of Ethiopia is federal system of government. The
current President is Girma Wolde-Giorgis, the ceremonial head of
state. The Prime Minister and the head of the government is Meles
Zenawi, who belongs to a coalition of parties known as the EPRDF.
Under the present government, opposition parties, Ethiopian news
organizations and several press watchdog agencies complain of
lack of sufficient press freedom. They allege that citizens have
little access to media about Ethiopia other than the state-owned
networks, and complain that private newspapers are struggling
under restrictive press laws.
Ethiopian news print media include state-owned newspapers such as
Addis Zemen and Ethiopian Herald, and private newspapers such as
the Ethiopian Reporter, Addis Fortune, Daily Mirror, Addis Admas
and Ethiopian Capital. Ethiopian news organizations include the
state-owned Ethiopian News Agency and the EPRDF-owned Walta
Information Center. Internet-based Ethiopian news organizations
are many but small and mostly foreign-based. Many of these sites
complain of being blocked and inaccessible from within Ethiopia.
Poor internet connectivity in Ethiopia may also be one reason for
the lack of well-developed Ethiopian news sources on the
internet.
Resources:
For more on
Ethiopian News and
About Ethiopia , please visit Ezega.