Size: About twice the size of Texas OR
about the size of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and; South Dakota, combined.
Population: a tad less than 91 million people (13th Largest in the world, 2nd largest of Africa) (about 3 times the pop of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota, combined)
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world
Ethiopia follows the Julian Calendar, which consists of twelve months of 30 days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six in a leap year). (The Ethiopian Calendar is about seven years and eight months behind the US calendar!!!)
In Ethiopia, the day begins at sunrise or 6:00 a.m. and Ethiopians begin counting the hours from this point. For example, 8:00 a.m. is 2:00 a.m. to an Ethiopian; 6:00 p.m. is 12:00 p.m, etc....
There are more than 70 (I've read anywhere from 70-95) tribes/ethnic groups in Ethiopia, most of which have their own language. Sometimes translating can take multiple translators!
After 30 years of war, Eritrea broke off of Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.
There are about 6 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia. (the pop of Wisconsin is 5,300,000) .......6.6% of their entire population are orphans! (720,000+ alone are orphaned by HIV/AIDS)
Only 38% of the population has access to clean drinking water.
One in six children die before the age of 5
One in five children die before their first birthday
About 42% of the population are literate. 58% of the population can't read or write.
60% of children are stunted because of malnutrition
