Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located on the continent of Africa, where it has a landlocked position and is bordered by Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. There are seven continents in the world: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Antarctica, Australia (Oceania). Africa is the second largest continent in the world, it has 54 countries, stretches across a total area size of 30,370,000 km2 and forms 20.4% of the landmass of the world. Ethiopia is a landlocked country that spreads over a total area of approximately 1,104,300 km2. It is Africa's tenth largest country by area. Ethiopia is postioned on the mainland of Africa where it forms part of the Horn of Africa along with Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.

The following details provide a guide to Ethiopia's approximate border lengths:
Djibouti 342 km, Eritrea 1,033 km, Kenya 867 km, Somalia 1,640 km, South Sudan 1,299 km, Sudan 744 km.

The climate of Ethiopia varies with elevation. The lowlands receive a hot and arid climate, and the highlands receive a cool climate. The country is located just north of the Equator so the temperatures vary only slightly throughout the year. The southwest monsoon brings rain across the plateau and mountainous regions from June to September. Some areas of Ethiopia receive so little rainfall that severe droughts occur as a result, often having devastating consequences. The geography of Ethiopia changed significantly on 24 may 1993 when Enitrea gained its entire coastline with the Red Sea. Ethiopia has since become the world's most populated landlocked country. Its terrain is formed of high plateau with a central mountainous region that is separated by a geographic trench, known as the Great Rift Valley, that forms part of an intra-continental ridge system. The lowest point of Ethiopia is the Danakil Depression at -125m, and the highest point of elevation is Ras Dejen at 4,550m.

The official languages of Ethiopia are Oromo and Amharic, although many other languages are spoken in this country, with many of them deriving from the Afro-asiatic family.

The primary religion of Ethiopia is Ethiopian Orthodox at approximately 43% of the population. Around 33% are Muslim and 18% Protestant. The remaining population either belongs to other religions or no religion at all.

Natural resources can be defined as materials and substances that occur naturally on Earth. Natural resources are very important across the world, and can be exploited for economic gain. An individual country's natural resources can depend on many factors including the climate, geography and location. Some countries, such as Russia, The United States, Saudi Arabia and Canada, are rich with natural resources, where as others have practically none. Food, construction and transport are three primary examples of uses of natural resources. The following information provides examples of these uses: fish occurs naturally in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans, and can be caught for food consumption. Wood/timber can be extracted from forests for construction purposes, i.e. to build homes and furniture. Crude oils can be refined into different kinds of fuels in order to power vehicles/cars. The natural resources of Ethiopia include gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas and hydropower (water power).

Each country has its own individual culture, history and identity. Flags, emblems, symbols, mottos, colors, anthems and songs represent the national pride and identity of countries worldwide. These national symbols are created through the unique history of a nation and can portray both hardship and prosperity, embodying freedom, strength and unity. Flags, emblems, songs, mottos and colors reflect the past, present and future hopes of a country, and create an important image to the rest of the world. National symbols can represent a combination of things that are important to a country such as birds, animals, plants, geographical features, tools of agriculture, crops, and tools of war. The following facts depict some of the national symbols, songs and colors that are important to Ethiopia: