---
title: "Ethiopia — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Ethiopia: capital Addis Ababa, area 1,104,300 km², population 135,472,051 (2025), currency Ethiopian birr. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Ethiopia

**Ethiopia: Capital Addis Ababa**

1,104,300 km² · 135,472,051 people (2025) · Ethiopian birr

Ethiopia has the highest mean elevation of any country in Africa, with more land above 3,000 m than the rest of the continent combined. The Blue Nile leaves Lake Tana here and supplies most of the Nile's flow during the flood season. The country keeps its own calendar of thirteen months, running seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Addis Ababa
- **Area:** 1,104,300 km² — 426,372 sq mi
- **Population:** 135,472,051 (2025)
- **Density:** 122.7 people per km²
- **Currency:** Ethiopian birr (ETB, Br)
- **Official language:** Amharic
- **Time zone:** UTC+03:00
- **Calling code:** +251
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** ET · ETH
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 27 of 200
- **By population:** 10 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| South Africa | 1,219,090 | 64,747,319 |
| Colombia | 1,138,910 | 53,425,635 |
| Ethiopia ← | 1,104,300 | 135,472,051 |
| Bolivia | 1,098,581 | 12,581,843 |
| Mauritania | 1,030,700 | 5,315,065 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Ethiopia?

Addis Ababa

### What currency does Ethiopia use?

The Ethiopian birr (ETB).

### How big is Ethiopia?

1,104,300 km², or 426,372 square miles — 27 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Ethiopia drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Colombia](https://atoneplace.net/country/colombia/)
- [Bolivia](https://atoneplace.net/country/bolivia/)
- [Mauritania](https://atoneplace.net/country/mauritania/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)
- [Uganda](https://atoneplace.net/country/uganda/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]