Ethiopia is found in the northeastern part of Africa and is 1,235,000 square kilometers (476,833 square miles), twice the size of France. It shares borders with Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and the republic of Djibouti. The country possesses great cultural wealth.  It is the home of a very ancient culture imbued with a distinct alphabet and sophisticated literature. There are more than 80 languages besides Amharic the official language. Religion has always been a major influence in Ethiopia and the country can trace its origins far back in biblical history. The ancient Ethiopian language, Geez was one of the seven languages into which the Bible was first translated.  

Today Ethiopia has an estimated population of 75 million people, of whom 85% is subsistence rural people who live on meager resources. The country is one of the poorest in the world and has over the years immensely suffered from natural and man made disasters. It has become known to the outside world as a poor underdeveloped country ravaged by famine, exhausted by war and conflicts. Today however, there is the political and moral will of the government and people to change the trend of the past for a better Ethiopia. Being in its 17th year of peace and stability Ethiopia is today moving toward development and democracy. There is a spirit of optimism and a political process of healing the scars of the past and working towards bringing change in the lives of people. However the task of improving the life of so many people is not easy and requires human and material resources to overcome the country’s multifaceted problems. This optimism also depends to a significant degree on yet to be fulfilled expectations of radical improvement in the living standard of the population.

The current inflation rate in Ethiopia is 13%.