Ethiopia is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. It is the 2nd-most populous nation in Africa ( after Nigeria ), 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. Ethiopia is also the 10th richest country in Africa. Ethiopia has long been an intersection between the civilizations of North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Unique among African countries, Ethiopia was never colonized, maintaining its independence throughout the Scramble for Africa onward, except for a five-year period (1936-41) when it was under Italian occupation. There was no Italian colonization of Ethiopia during this period, however, as the Italians occupied only a few key cities and major routes. The Italian period is thus considered an "occupation" and not colonial rule. Ethiopia has long been a member of international organizations: it became a member of the League of Nations, signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa, was one of the 51 original members of the United Nations, and is the headquarters for and one of the founding members of the former OAU and current AU.

Time and calendar

Ethiopia uses the Ethiopian calendar, which dates back to the Coptic calendar 25 BC and never adopted the Julian or Gregorian reforms. One Ethiopian year consists of twelve months, each lasting thirty days, plus a thirteenth month of five or six days (hence the "Thirteen Months of Sunshine" tourism slogan). The Ethiopian new year begins on September 10 or 11 (in the Gregorian calendar), and has accumulated 7-8 years lag behind the Gregorian calendar: thus, for the first nine months of 2007, the year will be 1999 according to the Ethiopian calendar. On September 11, 2007, Ethiopia celebrated New Year’s Day (Enkutatesh) for 2000. In Ethiopia, the 12-hour clock cycles do not begin at midnight and noon, but instead are offset six hours. Thus, Ethiopians refer to midnight (or noon) as 6 o’clock. Note: Airline timetables are based on the 24-hour clock and use the Gregorian calendar.

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