Ethiopia

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country situated in the Horn of Africa that has been landlocked since the independence of its northern neighbor Eritrea in 1993. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world and Africa's second-most populous nation. It has yielded some of the oldest traces of humanity, making it an important area in the history of human evolution. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the world.

Ethiopia's modern history began in 1855 when the country was reunited. Ethiopia's borders underwent significant territorial expansion to its modern borders for the rest of the century, culminating in its victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, and ensuring its sovereignty and freedom from colonization. It was brutally occupied by Mussolini's Italy from 1936 to 1941, ending with its liberation by British Empire and Ethiopian Patriot forces.

Having converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the second-oldest country to become officially Christian, after Armenia. Since 1974, it has been secular and has also had a considerable Muslim community since the earliest days of Islam.

Historically a relatively isolated mountain empire, Ethiopia by the mid 20th century became a crossroads of global international cooperation. It became a member of the League of Nations in 1923, signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, and was one of the fifty-one original members of the United Nations. Ethiopia hosts the headquarters of the African Union, of which it was the principal founder and Head quarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.