Local short name form

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Population

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International telephone access code

ISO 3166 country codes

Car nationality plate code

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GRC Country Code

   Note: This section last updated 17th April 2021

In Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Sidamo, Somali and Tigrinya:

   1,234.45

(where . indicates the decimal separator and , the thousands separator)

In Ge'ez (a liturgical language):

   1ወ234.45

(where ٬ indicates the decimal separator and ወ the thousands separator)

In Wolaytta:

   1'234.45

(where . indicates the decimal separator and ' the thousands separator)

   Note: This section last updated 17th April 2021

   dd/mm/yyyy

A system similar to the Julian calendar is still used in Ethiopia. It is based on the older Alexandrian or Coptic calendar. It adds a leap day every four years without exception, and begins the year on August 29 or August 30 in the Julian calendar.

It has twelve months of 30 days each plus five or six epagomenal days (usually called a thirteenth month). The sixth epagomenal day is added every four years without exception on August 29 in the Julian calendar, six months before the Julian leap day. Thus the first day of the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1901 and 2099 (inclusive), is usually September 11 (Gregorian), but falls on September 12 (Gregorian), in years before the Gregorian leap year.

Currently, the year is 8 year’s behind the Gregorian calendar - 2007 is 1999 in Ethiopia.

A 12-hour clock system in used, counting 12 hours (starting 12-1-2.... 10-11) between dawn and dusk and then 12 hours (counting in the same way) from dusk to dawn.

The national languages are English and Amharic , with 15 000 000 speakers.

81 other languages are spoken in Ethiopia. The geographical distribution of these languages is complex. The other main languages are Aari (109 000 speakers); Afar (450 000 speakers); Agaw (350 000 speakers); Awngi (490 000 speakers); Gamo-Gofa-Dawro (781 000 speakers); Gedeo (500 000 speakers); Gurage (East) (493 000 speakers); Gorage (North) (104 000 speakers); Gorage (West) (890 000 speakers); Hadiyya (1 000 000 speakers); Kaficho (500 000 speakers); Kambaata (1 000 000 speakers); Komso (200 000 speakers); Libido (100 000 speakers); Oromo Borana-Arsi-Guji (3 809 000 speakers); Oromo, Qotu (2 142 000 speakers); Oromo, West Central (about 8 000 000 speakers); Sidamo (1 500 000 speakers); Somali (2 050 000 speakers); Tigrinyi (4 150 000 speakers); Wolaytto (2 000 000 speakers) and Yemsa (500 000 speakers).

Women retain their own family name upon marriage. Forms of address are usually written followed by the given name only. Some Ethiopians use their father’s or grandfather’s given name as a family name/second given name.

   Tables of names can be acquired: given names , surnames/family names , family name prefixes , forms of address , job titles 

   Note: This section last updated 1st October 2014

Ethiopian company legal forms include:

  General Partnership
  Joint Venture
  Limited Company
  Limited Partnership
  Partnership
  Private Limited Company (Pvt. Ltd Co.)
  Share Company (SC)
  Sole Proprietorship

   Note: This section last updated 23rd September 2014

Deliveries are mainly to post office boxes.

Though postal deliveries are mainly to mailing addresses, street addresses will be found for the use of couriers, visitors etc. As not all streets are named, these may often be descriptive and unstructured, containing directions such as “near to”, “in front of”, “in the area of” and so on. They may also contain a Kebele (neighbourhood) number like this:

   Kebele 09

Examples:

   A table containing information about the relevant position of elements within address blocks can be acquired 

This is usually found in English as PO Box.

Ethiopia introduced a postal code system, with codes consisting of 4 digits, in 2007. The first digit indicates the region, the second the central delivery office and the last two the local office. It is not yet in wide use.

   Metadata containing postal code formatting rules, exceptions and regular expressions can be acquired 

Ethiopia - Postal code format graphic

Ethiopia - Postal code format

Ethiopia - Postal code specifics

Ethiopia - Postal code regular expression

Ethiopia - Postal code level of coverage

Ethiopia - Postal code map

   Note: This section last updated 9th April 2016

Refer to Exonyms in Ethiopia for full lists of place names in Ethiopia in other languages.

   Alternate place name forms/postal code tables can be acquired at http:www.grcdi.nl/settlements.htm 

   Other language place name data can be acquired at http://www.grcdi.nl/otherlanguageplace.htm 

   Note: This section last updated 8th September 2023

Ethiopia has 13 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations (astedaderoch, singular – āstedader, shown in the list below with an asterisk). The state names are not used in addresses:

    Ādīs Ābeba * (Addis Ababa) 
    Āfar (Afar) 
    Āmara (Amara) 
    Bīnshangul Gumuz (Benshangul-Gumaz) 
    Central Ethiopia Regional State (created 19th August 2023) 
    Dirē Dawa * (Dire Dawa) 
    Gambēla Hizboch (Gambela Peoples) 
    Hārer ī Hizb (Harari People) 
    Oromīya (Oromia) 
    Sidama 
    South Ethiopia Regional State  (ደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ክልላዊ መንግስት) (created 19th August 2023) 
    South West Ethiopia People's Region 
    Sumalē (Somali) 
    Tigray (Tigrai) 
    Ye Debub Bihēroch Bihēreseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and peoples region) 

Administrative districts graphic

Ethiopian area codes all have a length of 2 digits when called from abroad. Subscriber numbers have 7 digits. Mobile numbers have the area code 91.

   Tables of telephone number information/formats can be acquired – see http://www.grcdi.nl/telephone.htm