I will be dedicating each of the remaining weeks of 2016 to a country I will be visiting in 2017. Each week I will post information about the specific country and specific prayer requests. I am excited for the unique differences that each country will bring to the table. As a way to prepare my heart, I will be learning and praying. Come learn and pray with me!
The Country of The Week…
{ETHIOPIA}
Fun and Interesting Facts You Might Want To Know About…
Ethiopia
Official Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Capital: Addis Ababa (The Largest City)
{Addis Ababa means “New Flower” and it sits at 7,726 feet above sea level, making it the world’s fourth highest capital city.}
//Geography//
- Located in eastern Africa north of the equator in a region referred to as “The Horn of Africa”
- The shape of the country resembles the head of a rhinoceros
- Ethiopia is bordered on the west by Sudan, on the north by Eritrea, on the east by Somalia, and on the south by Kenya and South Sudan
- Similar in size to slightly less than twice the size of Texas
- 1,104,300 square kilometers (426,373 square miles)
- Landlocked (The entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on May 24, 1993 – The secession of Eritrea)
- Ethiopia is located in the geologically active Great Rift Valley and, therefore, is susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and frequent droughts
- Volcanoes – Erta Ale (Elevation 613 meters)has caused frequent lava flows in recent years and is the country’s most active volcano – Dabbahu became active in 2005
- The Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile River by water volume, rises in T’ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia
- Consists of high plateaus with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley
- Highest Point: Ras Dejen (4,533 meters – 14,872 feet)
- The climate includes tropical monsoons and widespread topographic-induced variations in weather
- Average temperature is 61°
- The western highlands get summer rainfall
- The lowlands and eastern highlands are hot and dry
- Ethiopian Seasons – {Kiremt or Meher (Summer) – June, July, August = Heavy Rain} {Belg (Autumn) – September, October, November = Harvest Season} {Bega (Winter) – December, January, February = Dry Season with frost in the mornings} {Tseday (Spring) March, April, May = Occasional showers – May is the hottest month}
//People//
- Population: 102,374,044– 264 people/square mile
- Most populous landlocked country in the world
- Annual Growth: 2.62%
- Urbanites: 19.5%
- UN Human Development Report Rank: 171 of 182
- Peoples: 113 People Groups (32 Groups – 28.3% Unreached)
- Official Languages: Amharic
- The number of individual languages listed for Ethiopia is 90. Regional languages are very important. Tigrinya, Oromo, Guaraginga, Somali, and Arabic are among these languages
- English is widely taught
- Life Expectancy: ~ 62 years
- Literacy Rate: 49.1%
- Diet: A typical dish consists of wot (hot spicy stew made with legumes and some kind of meat or fish) served with injera (sour flatbread made from fermented teff flour) which is used in place of utensils to scoop up food
- Internet Users: 11.538 million – 11.6% of Population
- Electricity: 24% of Population has Electricity (71.2 million without)
- Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia by goat herders and it is the world’s fifth largest producer of coffee. It is impolite to refuse a cup of coffee, so I guess I will be learning to drink coffee!
- Ethiopia is the only country in the world with a 13 month calendar and they are roughly 8 years behind the western calendar
- Time is measured from when the sun rises, so when the sun rises at 6 o’clock it is said to be 12 o’clock – the start of the day
- Children in Ethiopia take their father’s first name as their last name; therefore, parents and children do not share a last name
- Ethiopian Abebe Bikila was the first African to win gold in the Olympic Games in 1960, as he ran the marathon entirely barefoot
//Economy//
Almost 80% of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture. Most Ethiopians are farmers and herders. Deforestation, drought, and soil degradation have caused crop failures and famine during the past few decades; seven million people face starvation.
- Industry: Food processing, Beverages, Textiles, Leather, Garments, Metal Processing, Chemicals, Cement
- Agriculture: Cereals, Pulses, Coffee, Oilseed, Cotton, Sugarcane, Vegetables, Khat, Cut Flowers; Cattle; Hides; Sheep; Goats; Fish
- Exports: Coffee, Gat, Gold, Leather Products, Live Animals, Oilseeds (Export Partners – Switzerland 14.3%, China 11.7%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.9%, Germany 5.7%)
Currency: Ethiopian Birr
Population Below the Poverty Line: 29.6%
//History//
- Ethiopia’s history spans 2,000 years
- During the first millennium A.D. the Ethiopian Orthodox Church held the kingdom’s Christianity secure against the Islamic Holy Wars
- Emperor Haile Selassie, dethroned in 1974, was the last of the monarchs, all of whom avoided European colonialism, except for Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941
- One of the few countries in the world to have never been colonized
- In May 1991, a 30-year civil war between the government and rebel forces aligned with Eritrean nationalists ended with the government’s downfall
- Eritrea became independent in 1993, cutting off Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea
- The 1994 constitution divided the newly landlocked country into nine ethnically based regions
- A 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea killed tens of thousands and ended with a UN-sponsored agreement to demarcate the ill-defined border
//Religion//
In the 10/40 Window
Religion: Ethiopian Orthodox (43.5%), Islam (33.9%), Protestant (18.5%), Ethnic Religions (2.7%), Catholic (0.7%)
Largest Religion: Christian (60.68%)
Religion Pop % Annual Growth
Christians – 51,563,198 60.68 2.7
Evangelicals – 16,657,376 19.6 4.3
- One of the world’s first Christian States
- Ethiopia is mentioned about 40 times in the Bible
- Several churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia were carved entirely out of single blocks of stone. These churches date back to the 12th century
- The population is almost evenly split between Christians, living in the highlands, and Muslims inhabiting the lowlands
//Prayer//
I ask that you would join me in praying for Ethiopia.
THANKSGIVING ~ unity in believers ~ ThAnKfUl for FrEeDoM to WoRsHiP ~ PEACE ~ Ethiopian Orthodox Church ~ LOVE ~ The Challenge of Hostility With Bordering Countries ~ KINGDOM WORKERS ~ the work of the HOLY SPIRIT ~ Rising up local workers and leaders ~BiBlE DiStRiBuTiOn ~ May The WORD Be Known ~ COMMUNITY AND CONNECTIONS ~ MiSsIoN ViSiOn ~ militant muslims ~ Decrease in Persecution ~ TRUTH ~ divisions avoided ~ light in the dark ~ REVIVAL ~ Sustained FaItH ~ May people know —
JESUS
To God Be The Glory
Forever…AMEN!
Click the link below to watch a video on how you can pray for Ethiopia:
Let Heaven Come.
On Earth As It Is In Heaven.
To God Be The Glory!
Amen!
// Your JOY-FILLED daughter //
LoVe,
Cary
Information Gathered From:
CIA World Factbook
National Geographic Travel
Operation World
Joshua Project
Ethnologue
Prayercast
Ethiopian Treasures
