Africa · Conquest and colonial rule
Ethiopia
Federal republic · 1942–2024
Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is one of the world's oldest continuous states and the only African country never fully colonised. Its modern period covered here begins with the restoration of sovereignty after the Italian occupation (1936–1941): British and Ethiopian patriot (Arbegnoch) forces liberated the country in 1941 during the East African campaign, and full independence was confirmed by the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement of January 1942 (finalised December 1944).
- Type
- Federal republic
- Existed
- 1942–2024
- Shown on the map
- 1942–2024
- Peak area
- 1.3M km²
- Region
- Africa
Overview
Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is one of the world's oldest continuous states and the only African country never fully colonised. Its modern period covered here begins with the restoration of sovereignty after the Italian occupation (1936–1941): British and Ethiopian patriot (Arbegnoch) forces liberated the country in 1941 during the East African campaign, and full independence was confirmed by the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement of January 1942 (finalised December 1944). Emperor Haile Selassie I, ruler since 1930 and heir to the Solomonic dynasty that claimed descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba through the Aksumite kingdom — which had adopted Christianity around 330 AD — resumed his modernisation programme, issued a revised constitution in 1955, made Ethiopia a founding member of the UN, and hosted the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in Addis Ababa in 1963. He federated Eritrea in 1952 and annexed it outright in 1962, igniting a thirty-year Eritrean war of independence.
Later history and present status
Discontent over famine, feudal land tenure, and the 1973 oil crisis brought down the emperor in September 1974. The Derg, a Marxist-Leninist military junta, abolished the monarchy in 1975, nationalised land, and unleashed the Red Terror (1976–78) that killed up to 500,000 people. Under Mengistu Haile Mariam, Ethiopia fought off Somalia's invasion in the Ogaden War (1977–78) with Soviet-bloc aid, but the 1983–85 famine killed about a million people and insurgencies grew in Tigray and Eritrea. In 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took Addis Ababa; Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe, and Eritrea became independent in 1993. A 1995 constitution created an ethnic-based federal republic. The EPRDF dominated until 2018, when Abiy Ahmed became prime minister, won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending the border war with Eritrea, but then presided over the devastating Tigray war (2020–2022). Today Ethiopia is Africa's second-most populous country (over 130 million), roughly two-thirds Christian (mainly Ethiopian Orthodox) and a third Muslim, with a fast-growing but still poor agrarian economy and ongoing ethnic conflicts.
Common questions
- What was Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is one of the world's oldest continuous states and the only African country never fully colonised. Its modern period covered here begins with the restoration of sovereignty after the Italian occupation (1936–1941): British and Ethiopian patriot (Arbegnoch) forces liberated the country in 1941 during the East African campaign, and full independence was confirmed by the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement of January 1942 (finalised December 1944).
- When did Ethiopia exist?
- Ethiopia existed 1942–2024. On this map it is drawn 1942–2024.
- How large was Ethiopia?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Ethiopia covered about 1.3 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Ethiopia?
- Discontent over famine, feudal land tenure, and the 1973 oil crisis brought down the emperor in September 1974. The Derg, a Marxist-Leninist military junta, abolished the monarchy in 1975, nationalised land, and unleashed the Red Terror (1976–78) that killed up to 500,000 people.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia — Ethiopia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
See Ethiopia in its world
Open the atlas at 1983 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.
Open the map at 1983 →