Eastern Africa · ETH

Ethiopia

The story · 12 chapters

How it was drawn

From D'mt and Aksum to the Solomonic emperors, a highland state that survived Adal, Egypt and Italy, grew south under Menelik II, lost its coast with Eritrea, and is still fighting over its own future.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Ethiopia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of Kush330 to 350
Aksum's King Ezana campaigns west to the Nile in the mid fourth century, as recorded on his stone inscriptions, against the Noba and the land of Kush, whose kingdom, centred on Meroe, is already in decline.
Himyarite Kingdom518 to 525
Aksum's King Kaleb sends an army across the Red Sea around 525 to overthrow the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, who had persecuted Christians at Najran. Aksumite generals then rule Yemen for decades.
Ifat Sultanate1320 to 1415
The Muslim sultanate of Ifat, east of the highlands, fights the Solomonic emperors for control of trade routes. Emperor Amda Seyon defeats it in 1332, and later emperors destroy it in the early fifteenth century.
Adal Sultanate1415 to 1577
Adal, Ifat's successor based at Harar, wages long wars on the empire. From 1529 Imam Ahmad, called Gragn, overruns most of the highlands, burning churches, until he is killed at Wayna Daga in 1543 with Portuguese help.
Ottoman Empire1557 to 1589
The Ottomans take Massawa in 1557 and found the province of Habesh. Emperor Sarsa Dengel fights them in the northern highlands in the 1570s and 1580s and confines them to the coast.
United Kingdom1867 to 1868
Emperor Tewodros imprisons British envoys and missionaries. A British army of about 13,000 lands in 1868, storms Magdala in April, and Tewodros shoots himself rather than be captured.
Khedivate of Egypt1875 to 1876
Egypt, expanding from Sudan and the Red Sea coast, invades the northern highlands. Emperor Yohannes IV destroys Egyptian armies at Gundet in 1875 and Gura in 1876.
Mahdist State1885 to 1889
Sudan's Mahdists and Ethiopia fight along the western frontier. A Mahdist army sacks Gondar in 1888, and Emperor Yohannes IV is killed at the battle of Metemma in March 1889.
Kingdom of Italy1887 to 1896
Italy, expanding from Eritrea, claims a protectorate over Ethiopia under the Treaty of Wuchale. Menelik II rejects it, and his army crushes the Italians at Adwa on 1 March 1896, securing Ethiopia's independence.
Fascist Italy1935 to 1941
Mussolini's Italy invades in October 1935, using poison gas, and takes Addis Ababa in May 1936. Ethiopian resistance continues until British and Ethiopian forces drive the Italians out in 1941.
Somalia1960 to 1978
Somalia claims the Somali-inhabited Ogaden. Border fighting breaks out in 1964, and in 1977 Somalia invades. With Soviet weapons and Cuban troops, Ethiopia drives the Somali army out in March 1978.
Eritrean fronts1961 to 1991
Eritrean fighters take up arms in 1961 against Ethiopian rule. The war lasts thirty years and ends in 1991, when the Eritrean People's Liberation Front takes Asmara; Eritrea becomes independent in 1993.
Eritrea1998 to 2018
A dispute over the border town of Badme becomes a war from 1998 to 2000 that kills tens of thousands. Ethiopia accepts the 2002 boundary ruling only in 2018, when the two countries make peace.
EgyptSince 2011Still open
Egypt sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, under construction on the Blue Nile since 2011, as a threat to its water. Years of talks, also involving Sudan, have produced no binding deal on filling and running it.

Today

Ethiopia now

The area that is modern-day Ethiopia is rich in cultural and religious diversity with more than 80 ethnic groups. D. C. to 1855, when the Amhara kingdoms of northern Ethiopia united in an empire under Tewodros II. Many Ethiopians still speak reverently about the Battle of Adwa in 1896, when they defeated Italian forces and won their freedom from colonial rule.

Capital: Addis Ababa
Government: federal parliamentary republic
Head of government: Abiy Ahmed
Head of state: Taye Atske Selassie
Languages: Amharic
Area: 1,129,819 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population129 million2023 · 17.7 million in 1950
Life expectancy67.3 years2023 · 35.5 years in 1950
GDP per person$2,2892022 · $622 in 1950
Living in cities24%2025 · 6% in 1950
Literacy61%2022 · 3% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending0.5% of GDP2025
War deaths4.0 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
Eritrea

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Ethiopia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of Kush330 to 350

Aksum's King Ezana campaigns west to the Nile in the mid fourth century, as recorded on his stone inscriptions, against the Noba and the land of Kush, whose kingdom, centred on Meroe, is already in decline.

Himyarite Kingdom518 to 525

Aksum's King Kaleb sends an army across the Red Sea around 525 to overthrow the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, who had persecuted Christians at Najran. Aksumite generals then rule Yemen for decades.

Ifat Sultanate1320 to 1415

The Muslim sultanate of Ifat, east of the highlands, fights the Solomonic emperors for control of trade routes. Emperor Amda Seyon defeats it in 1332, and later emperors destroy it in the early fifteenth century.

Adal Sultanate1415 to 1577

Adal, Ifat's successor based at Harar, wages long wars on the empire. From 1529 Imam Ahmad, called Gragn, overruns most of the highlands, burning churches, until he is killed at Wayna Daga in 1543 with Portuguese help.

Ottoman Empire1557 to 1589

The Ottomans take Massawa in 1557 and found the province of Habesh. Emperor Sarsa Dengel fights them in the northern highlands in the 1570s and 1580s and confines them to the coast.

United Kingdom1867 to 1868

Emperor Tewodros imprisons British envoys and missionaries. A British army of about 13,000 lands in 1868, storms Magdala in April, and Tewodros shoots himself rather than be captured.

Khedivate of Egypt1875 to 1876

Egypt, expanding from Sudan and the Red Sea coast, invades the northern highlands. Emperor Yohannes IV destroys Egyptian armies at Gundet in 1875 and Gura in 1876.

Mahdist State1885 to 1889

Sudan's Mahdists and Ethiopia fight along the western frontier. A Mahdist army sacks Gondar in 1888, and Emperor Yohannes IV is killed at the battle of Metemma in March 1889.

Kingdom of Italy1887 to 1896

Italy, expanding from Eritrea, claims a protectorate over Ethiopia under the Treaty of Wuchale. Menelik II rejects it, and his army crushes the Italians at Adwa on 1 March 1896, securing Ethiopia's independence.

Fascist Italy1935 to 1941

Mussolini's Italy invades in October 1935, using poison gas, and takes Addis Ababa in May 1936. Ethiopian resistance continues until British and Ethiopian forces drive the Italians out in 1941.

Somalia1960 to 1978

Somalia claims the Somali-inhabited Ogaden. Border fighting breaks out in 1964, and in 1977 Somalia invades. With Soviet weapons and Cuban troops, Ethiopia drives the Somali army out in March 1978.

Eritrean fronts1961 to 1991

Eritrean fighters take up arms in 1961 against Ethiopian rule. The war lasts thirty years and ends in 1991, when the Eritrean People's Liberation Front takes Asmara; Eritrea becomes independent in 1993.

Eritrea1998 to 2018

A dispute over the border town of Badme becomes a war from 1998 to 2000 that kills tens of thousands. Ethiopia accepts the 2002 boundary ruling only in 2018, when the two countries make peace.

EgyptSince 2011Still open

Egypt sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, under construction on the Blue Nile since 2011, as a threat to its water. Years of talks, also involving Sudan, have produced no binding deal on filling and running it.

Ethiopia now

Capital

Addis Ababa

Government

federal parliamentary republic

Head of government

Abiy Ahmed

Head of state

Taye Atske Selassie

Languages

Amharic

Area

1,129,819 km²

Then and now

Population129 million2023 · 17.7 million in 1950

Life expectancy67.3 years2023 · 35.5 years in 1950

GDP per person$2,2892022 · $622 in 1950

Living in cities24%2025 · 6% in 1950

Literacy61%2022 · 3% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending0.5% of GDP2025

War deaths4.0 per 100,0002025