Maps of Ethiopia

Ethiopia officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants,[3] and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north,Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.



At 435,071 square miles (1,126,829 km2), Ethiopia is the world's 27th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Bolivia. It lies between latitudes  and 15°N, and longitudes 33° and48°E.  The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia are Sudan and South Sudan to the west, Djibouti andEritrea to the north, Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a vast highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands, steppes, or semi-desert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns.


Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from the deserts along the eastern border to the tropical forests in the south to extensive Afromontane in the northern and southwestern parts. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the Gelada Baboon, the Walia Ibex and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, this has helped to encourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation. 


Before 1996, Ethiopia was divided into 13 provinces, many derived from historical regions. Ethiopia now has a tiered government system consisting of a federal government overseeing ethnically based regional countries, zones, districts(woredas), and neighborhoods (kebele).

Ethiopia is divided into nine ethnically based administrative countries and subdivided into sixty-eight zones and two chartered cities.  Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.  It is further subdivided into 550woredas and several special woredas.

The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states that can establish their own government and democracy according to the federal government's constitution. Each region has its apex regional council where members are directly elected to represent the districts and the council has legislative and executive power to direct internal affairs of the regions. Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution further gives every regional state the right to secede from Ethiopia. There is debate, however, as to how much of the power guaranteed in the constitution is actually given to the states. The councils implement their mandate through an executive committee and regional sectoral bureaus. Such elaborate structure of council, executive, and sectoral public institutions is replicated to the next level (woreda).  The nine regions are:


Addis Ababa
Afar
Amhara
Benishangul-Gumuz
Dire Dewa
Gambela
Harari
Ormonia
Somali
Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region
Tigray

             Populations of the Largest Cities or Towns in Ethiopia

1
2 757 729
2
252 279
3
215 546
4
213 995
5
168 899
6
153 914
7
136 056
8
133 097
9
128 306
10
104 215