Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Ethiopia

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Ethiopia.

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Did You Know?

19 curious facts about Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has the world's lowest GNP per capita at $100 per person.
The name Ethiopia come from a Greek word meaning “sunburned faces.”
The Greeks called all peoples south of Egypt Ethiopians because of their darker skin.
Ethiopia's former name is Abyssinia, a word of uncertain origin: some people believe it comes from an Arabic word meaning “mixed” - a reference to the country's many ethnic groups; others contend that the name belonged to an early Ethiopian tribe.

Coffee originated in Ethiopia. The word coffee comes from Kefa, the name of a province in southern Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is famous as the country of “13 months of sunshine.” The Ethiopian year is based on the Julian calendar, which has 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month called Pagume, which has five days (or six in a leap year).
Yeha in northern Ethiopia was the site of its earliest known capital and is considered the birthplace of Ethiopian civilization. The sandstone temple ruins there date from between 800 and 500 BC.
Ethiopian people have some very creative hairstyles. Hamar, Geleb, Bume and Karo men mat a section of their hair with clay and insert feather decorations. Harar women part their hair in the middle and wind it into two buns behind their ears.
Ethiopia is the world's main supplier of civet (zebade), which is used in perfumes throughout the world. The musky substance is produced by the civet cat, a mammal related to the mongoose.
Until the 20th century, some Ethiopians still used an ancient form of currency called amole, which are salt bars. The system arose because salt was scarce in the highlands and much desired for cooking.