Travel Information
Land
Ethiopia, as large as France and Spain combined, has an area of 1,112,000 square Kilometers. About 65 per cent of the land is arable, with 15per cent presently cultivated.
Climate
There are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September.
Topography
Ethiopia has an elevated central plateau varying in height between 2,000 and 3,000 meters. In the north and center of the country there are some 25 mountains whose peaks rise over 4,000 meters. The most famous Ethiopia river is the Blue Nile (Abbay), which runs a distance of 1,450 Kilometers from its source in Lake Tana, to join the White Nile at Khartoum.
Transport
Roads: there are some 4,100 Kilometers of asphalt roads with a future 19,000Kilometer of gravel and dry-whether roads.
Railway: A778-kilometer long railway line links Addis Ababa with Djibouti, and carries both freight and passengers.
Air :Ethiopia Airlines has an extensive Domestic network flying to 43 airfields and an additional 21 landing strips.
Economy
About 90 per cent of the population earn their living from the land, mainly as subsistence farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, pulses, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals. There is also a thriving livestock sector, exporting cattle on the hoof and hides and skins.
Language
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with a great variety of languages spoken in the country, of which there are83 with 200 dialects. /the main three languages are Amharic, Tigrigna and Oromigna. English is widely spoken.
Electric Supply
Ethiopia uses 220 volts 50 cycles Ac.
Newspapers
There are several foreign-language newspaper published in Ethiopia including the Dailey Ethiopian Herald, printed in English, and the Arabic weekly newspaper Al-Alem.
Time
Ethiopia is in the GMT +3 hours time zone. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of twelve months of 30 days each and a thirteenth month of five or six days.
People
The population is estimated at 65 million, over 50 per cent of whom are under 20 years old . The average number of inhabitants per square Kilometer is 49.
Hotels
Addis Ababa has hotels that cater for all pockets, from the Luxurious Sheraton and Hilton Hotels to the tourist-class hotels such as the Ghion, the Ethiopia and the Wabi Shebelle. All tourist resort offer a choice of modern hotels.
Currency
The local currency is the Ethiopian Birr, made up of 100 cents. Visitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency, providing declaration of such currency (on the appropriate blue-colored form ) is made to customs on arrival. Foreign currency may only be changed at authorized banks hotels. The currency declaration form must be retained as this will be required by customs on departure. Visitors, however, will be able to change back any excess Ethiopia birr to foreign currency at the airport, before departure. If you do have Ethiopian birr to cash in at the airport, you must, in addition to the currency declaration form, bring with you all receipts for exchange transactions.
Customs
Duty free import is permitted for up to:
a)200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 1/2LB of tobacco
b)1 litter of alcoholic beverages
c)1/2 liter, or two bottles, of perfumes.
visitors may export souvenirs with a value not exceeding E. Birr 500, although some articles (such as animal skin and antiques) require an export permit.
Taxis
The Taxis are Luxury Mercedes limousines. They are stationed outside all the major hotels and at the airport. They have fixed rates and a receipt is given for the fare.
Health requirements
Prior to entry, visitors should be in possession of a valid health certificate for yellow fever. Vaccination against cholera is also required for any person who has visited or transited a cholera-infected area within six days prior to arrival in Ethiopia.
Visa
Visa are required for all foreign visitors to Ethiopia. This can be secured from Ethiopian Diplomatic and consular missions abroad. In addition .Visitors from the countries listed below can obtain visa on arrival at Bole International Airport (Addis Ababa)
| Argentina | Greece | Norway |
| Australia | Ireland | Poland |
| Austria | Israel | Portugal Russia |
| Belgium | Italy | South Africa |
| Brazil | Japan | Spain |
| Canada | Rep.Korea | Sweden |
| China | kuwait | Switzerland |
| Denmark | Luxemberg | Taiwan |
| Finland | Mexico | UnitedKingdom |
| France | Netherlands | United States |
| Germany | Newzealand |
