About Ethiopia
Today approx. 77 million people live in the Democratic Federal Republic of Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa in the east of the continent.
The country can look back on a history of several thousand years, the reason why it is considered to be the cradle of humanity. Further, coffee has its origin in Ethiopia, which is the main export commodity. Ethiopia is beautiful and is very rich in culture. It is currently one of the fastest growing economies in Africa due to its largely unexplored resources and huge business potential. In spite of that, countless people in Ethiopia still live in inhumane conditions and are dying of hunger or preventable and curable diseases.
Ethiopia, bordered by Eritrea, Kenya, the Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti, can be subdivided into three climatic zones. Almost 80 million people live here in about 90 different ethnic groups. 80 languages and 200 dialects are spoken in Ethiopia and it is about three times the size of Germany. However, due to the lack of infrastructure, especially the rural population is more or less cut off from the outside world.
Approximately 3.5 millions years ago Ethiopia was the first country in the world to be settled. In the course of colonialism Ethiopia remained the only country in Africa that could never be completely conquered. The successful resistance to the first Italian invasion in 1896 became a firm element of the Ethiopian feeling of national identity.