Curating a list of all the things that make Ethiopia an interesting African country may be impossible because it has a lot of fascinating stories.
One of the top reasons is that it is the fastest-growing economy in Africa. According to the World Bank, the GDP growth of Ethiopia in 2021 was 5.64%. It was however expected to rise to 5.7% by 2023.
It is also important to state that this country has 9 UNESCO Sites in Africa. She who is considered to be the ‘Nation of Festivals’ was believed to have been ruled over by the Queen of Sheba during her reign.
Ethiopia is also unique because here you can find the longest existing lava lake and also the longest river in the world, Lake Tana, that passes through her. It is also the highest Capital City in Africa, the 4th highest in the World, and the home of the African Union.
There Are so Many Interesting Facts about This Great African country but Let’s Look at These 10 Enthralling Facts
1. Ethiopia is Africa’s Oldest Country
Ethiopia was founded sometime in 980 BC and is the oldest independent African country. With over 160 million citizens, it is also the 2nd most populated country in Africa, following the ‘Giant of Africa’, Nigeria. It is also the most populated landlocked country in the world.
It is also speculated that some of the earliest human populations lived in Ethiopia. The belief is that Homo Erectus evolved here over 1 million years ago and there are archaeological findings confirming this to be true.
Over these years, the country has birthed more than 80 languages but has only 5 official languages including Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Oromo, and Afar. The most common foreign language spoken in the country is English.
Ethiopic or Geez is one of the oldest alphabets in the world. It has its own unique syllabary and phonetics and the alphabet consists of 33 letters and 7 vowels.
2. This Nation of Festivals was Never Colonized
Ethiopia was never colonized but was only occupied by the Italians for 6 years – from 1936 to 1941. Of all the 54 African countries, she and Liberia were the only countries to have never been colonized. Liberia was never colonized because it was initially not a country but was a land for freed slaves who didn’t want to return to their country.
Ethiopia would have been colonized by Italy in the 1930s and they even occupied the territory for years. However, they were unable to bring the entire country under their control and eventually had to leave, unsuccessfully.
3. No Other Country Operates at the Same Time and Date as Ethiopia
This country is one of 5 countries in the world that does not operate with the Gregorian calendar. She adopted the calendar system which is a close replica of the Julian calendar.
This country operates a ’13 month calendar system, different from the widely recognized 12 months. Ethiopia has 12 months of 30 days and a thirteenth month of 5 days or 6 if it is a leap year. Because of this, the country is 7 years and 8 months behind the Gregorian calendar.
The main reason for this is however the differences in the birth of Jesus. They began to calculate the birth of Jesus from a different date than the rest of the world. Ethiopia celebrates theirs on January 7 and during their spring in September, the rest of the world enters the New Year.
They also had their own alphabet, letters, and numbers traced back to Sabean.
When it comes to telling the time, she is the only country that uses a 12-hour clock. They track their timing from dusk to dawn and then dawn to dusk. They basically use daylight to figure out the time.
In practical terms, the sun rises at 7 am, and by 1 o’clock. Noon was synonymous with 6 pm. Nonetheless, there are some places in the country that use the 24-hour clock allowing visitors to understand the times better.
The other countries that operate different calendars are; Afghanistan and Iran which follow the Solar Hijri calendar, Thailand and Nepal which adopted the Vikram Samvat, and Nepal Sambat calendar.
4. Ethiopia has a Rich History of Rulers
Since the early 1900s, Ethiopia has been blessed with a good number of rulers which include queens and emperors. These rulers made significant impacts on the progress of the country.
The emperors who ruled the country till 1974 were believed to have been descendants of King Solomon. The queens were referred to as Candace and Ethiopia had quite a good number of remarkable queens.
Queen Zewditu was the empress of the Nation of Festivals from 1916 to 1930 and was internationally recognized as the first female African head of state (president).
After her, there was Queen Gudit or Judit who was a Jewish queen and ruled during the 10th century. She ruled parts of the country and will forever be remembered for burning down a lot of Churches.
5. Over Half of Africa’s Mountains are Found Here
Considering how rich this country is in preservation, it isn’t weird that she has most of her mountains still intact and even a sight to behold by all.
She is rich in landscape, very mountainous, and boasts of having about 70% of the mountains found in Africa.
6. Traditionally, Children Do Not Share the Last Name of their Parents
Of course, Ethiopia wouldn’t be called the Nation of Festivals if she did not have rich cultures and traditions. One such tradition is one that doesn’t necessarily expect children to bear the same last name as their fathers.
Therefore, in Ethiopia, children are named by their first name and then their father’s name as their last name. People here also mostly refer to people using their first name so this eliminates the surname most times.
Also, it is not customary for women to change their names as a result of marriage. Because the second name isn’t a surname, it takes away the importance of having the wives bear the second name.
7. Ethiopia is the Oldest Christian Country in Africa
She is the oldest Christian Country in Africa and also the second oldest Christian country in the world. Ethiopia has historical tales that date back to biblical times. She has coined most of her cultural activities including a days-long festival, back to the beginning of Christianity.
In the world, Armenia is the only country that is older than Ethiopia when it comes to Christianity.
Also, Ethiopia boasts of having the biblical Ark of the Covenant. It is claimed that Axum, a church in Ethiopia, is the final resting place of the Ark.
After this 10 Commandment given to Moses was reported missing during the Babylonian sack of King Solomon, Ethiopians said it was taken to their country where it was kept safe.
The supposed resting place of The Ark is heavily guarded by a monk and people are not allowed into the monastery, therefore it remains a claim that is yet to be proven with evidence.
One other claim that makes this country’s biblical stance valid is the fact that the Queen of Sheba once ruled over Ethiopia.
Interestingly, Ethiopia was also the first country to accept Islam as a religion, in the world.
READ ALSO: Every African Country, Capital, How It Got Its Name, Most Spoken Language
8. In This Country, You Will Find the Lowest Points on Earth
The Danakil Depression is the lowest place in Africa and is at the ‘mouth’ of three tectonic plates located in the Horn of Africa. This place is approximately 125 meters below sea level and is a small desert that houses 25% of African volcanoes.
Because of the number of volcanoes there and due to some other factors, this place has also earned itself the title of ‘hottest place inhabited’ in Africa.
In the world, the lowest land area is the shoreline of the Dead Sea Depression found in Israel, Jordan, and Syria.
9. Ethiopians are Probably the Leanest People on Earth
Probably owing to the fact that this African country is mostly a vegetarian country, most of its people are very lean. They are so lean some people refer to them as the leanest people on earth with their obesity rate at 4.5% as of 2022.
The meals found in this country have been regarded as tasty, diverse, and above all, healthy. It is a place where vegetarians can comfortably live and eat with no worries.
Ethiopians, because of their strong Christian beliefs and doctrines, strictly follow Orthodox Christianity which prevents the eating of animal and animal products on Wednesdays and Fridays. Because of this, they substitute these products for healthier green products even in their restaurants.
This is weird because they are also one African country who have raw meat as a ceremonial, cultural dish.
10. The Birthplace of the Rastafarian Movement is Ethiopia
Oh, you thought it was Jamaica, right? Well you, me, and a lot of other people are actually wrong.
While Jamaica only developed and spread this Rastafarian movement, its actual birthplace is Ethiopia.
The word ‘Ras’ is an Ethiopian word that means ‘Chief’ in Amharic, the country’s official language. ‘Tafari’ is the first name of a one-time Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie I who was believed to have been an incarnation of God and also the spiritual leader of the Rastafarians.
Lastly, take a look at the Ethiopian flag and the colors of the movement. Does it seem like those colors match coincidentally?
You see, the Rastafarian movement has its birthplace traced back to Ethiopia.
