Africa's second most populous country: Ethiopia's 135.9 million people and its landlocked frame
Background
Ethiopia, the country in focus in this section, is the setting for the World Bank lending and the humanitarian appeals reported above, and its size explains the scale of both.
The World Bank puts Ethiopia's population at about 135.9 million people in 2025, making it the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria.
Its per capita GDP is 979 dollars.
Poverty fell from 39 per cent to 24 per cent between 2004 and 2016, then rose from 27 per cent to 32 per cent over the period 2016 to 2021.
Ethiopia is a landlocked country on the Horn of Africa, with neighbouring nations including Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan.
Its physical features include Lake Tana, the Blue Nile River with the Blue Nile Falls, the Awash and Omo rivers, and the Simien and Bale Mountains.
Its capital Addis Ababa, meaning New Flower, lies almost at the centre of the country.
In plain words
Horn of Africa Horn of Africa — The peninsula of northeast Africa that takes in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.
Landlocked Landlocked country — A country with no coastline, which must use a neighbour's ports for sea trade.