This can depend on where you are going. In most of the country, the main rainy season runs from June to the end of September, with short rains in March. In the Omo and Mago parks however, in Southern Ethiopia, the seasons are different with the main rains from March to June, and shorter rains in November. However, in a time of changing global wather patterns it is not longer possible to be absolutely definitive about the rains in recent years unseasonable rains have made sections of the Omo impassable, for example.
Country topographic profile
With an area of 1,112,000 square kilometers, Ethiopia is as large as France and Spain combined. From the North and running down the centre are the Abyssinian highlands, to the West of the chain the land drops to the grasslands of Sudan, to the East to the deserts of the Afar and the Red Sea. South of Addis Ababa, the land is dominated by the Rift Valley Lakes. The main rivers are the Blue Nile, the Tekezze, the Awash, the Wabe Shabele, the Omo, and the Baro.
Government and recent history
In 1974, the imperial government of Haile Selassie I was overthrown by a group of lower ranking officers from the armed forces. During the following 17 years, Ethiopia was wracked by civil wars and state sponsored famines. The military regime was finally overthrown in 1991 by a coalition of rebel groups called the Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF) which continues to dominate the government today. Ethiopia is now a Federal Republic made up of 9 regions based mainly on ethnicity. The present government was re-elected in May 2005 for a 5 year term.
Economy
85% of the population get their livelihood form the land. Coffee(the word originates from the name of the province of Kaffa, in the South West of Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee) provides the bulk of foreign currency earnings, although the recent decline in world coffee prices has meant a fall in its share form 65% to around 45%(see the award winning documentary “Black Gold” for an expose of how Ethiopia’s coffee farmers lose out in the world markets.) The export of oilseeds, livestock, skins and hid(Ethiopia has the largest domestic livestock population in Africa), flowers textiles, pulses, and animal feed makes up the rest of Ethiopia’s foreign currency earnings, with tourism making an increasingly important contribution.
Population
The current population is about 77 million, making it the third most populated country in Africa.
Currency
The Ethiopian Birr is the legal tender of the country. The exchange rate is announced after a weekly auction.
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