1. Summary 2. Highlights 3. Getting Here 4. History 5. Government 6. Money 7. Geography 8. Weather and Climate 9. Culture 10. Food 11. Accommodations 12. Education 13. Work 14. Communications 15. Health and Safety 16. Getting Around

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edit Ethiopia Travel Guide

Ethiopia is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. It is the 2nd-most populous nation in Africa, bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and Sudan to the west. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the second-oldest official Christian nation in the world after Armenia.

edit Highlights

edit Getting Here

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

By boat

edit History

edit Government

edit Money

edit Geography

edit Weather And Climate

edit Culture

edit Food

edit Accommodations

edit Education

edit Work

The country's economy is based on agriculture. 80% of the people lead an agrarian lifestyle.
However, in the big cities, especially in Addis-Ababa,

There is a high demand of IT professionals.
Many start-up companies search for individuals with computer networking and consulting backgrounds.
Addis-Ababa has the highest number of NGOs in Africa, and possibly among all third world countries. They are reputed for providing generous salaries to their employees.

CAUTION: The unemployment rate in Addis is extremely high, especially among the unskilled young men and women.

Many expatriates work in NGOs and small start-up IT companies.
Compared with other African cities, Addis-Ababa has a high number of big, medium and small sized computer training schools, and governmental and private learning institutions. Many students who attend hope to obtain an IT or consulting job, in the very scarce job market of the city.

edit Communications

edit Health And Safety

Be careful of the food you eat, and don't stay in the sun too long. If you get sick, contact your embassy for advice. Ethiopian doctors are expensive. However, the very expensive hospitals, especially in Addis-Ababa, are clean and well maintained.

edit Getting Around

By plane

Ethiopian Airlines is reasonably priced and has fairly comprehensive domestic services.

By train

There is a (slow) train between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.

By bus

There is a comprehensive network of cheap buses along the major roads, although these are slow and basic. Buses generally leave whenever they have filled up with passengers (in practice, these means once an hour or so). Buses do not travel at night; they will stop before sundown in a town or village with accommodation for the passengers. Between some cities (e.g. Adama and Addis Ababa), minibuses will run after the larger buses have stopped for the night.

By car

A good way to tour Ethiopia is by car. You can take small airplanes to expedite your tour, but you will take in more of scenery if you travel by car. Two reasonable touring companies are NTO and Focus Tours Ethiopia. They can take you off the beaten track so you can see the beauty and attractions of Ethiopia.

By bicycle

Road conditions vary considerably around Ethiopia; some roads are smoothly sealed while others consist mostly of large stones. Accommodation is cheap and available in almost every village (although these "hotels" usually double as bars and brothels). Food and drink are also easily available. You will attract considerable attention (it is not uncommon for whole schools to empty out as the children chase you).