General Information about Ethiopia

Full Name of the Country: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Capital City: Addis Ababa
Land: Ethiopia covers an area of 1.14 million square kilometers (944,000 square miles)
Climate: There are two major seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September
Language: Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with a great variety of languages spoken in the country, of which there are 83 with 200 dialects. Amharic is the working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while Oromigna, Tigrigna and Guragina are widely spoken. Moreover, English, Italian, French and Arabic are widely spoken in the spheres of commerce and education
Internet: Internet domain or country code suffix .et numerous internet cafes are available in Addis Ababa and in other cities
Electric supply: Ethiopia uses 220 volts 50 cycles AC, most of sockets are schuko type
Telephone: International dialing code: +251
Time: Ethiopia is in the GMT + 3 hours time zone. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar
Clothing: In general between seasons clothes are appropriate. At higher altitudes, woolen clothes or a coat are needed in the evenings. Travelers should take rain coat or other rainwear, particularly when visiting the country during the period from February to October. It is usually possible to have clothes laundered at or near hotels within a short period of time (frequently services are offered 24 hours a day).
Banking Hours: Banking hours are usually from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday and from 8:00 am – 11:00 am on Saturdays. Closing times may be an hour longer in some private banks. Most banks work through lunchtime; however foreign exchange services are closed during lunch hours (12:00 noon – 1:00 pm).
Shopping Hours: Shops are open Monday to Friday 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-very flexible, often longer opening hours; some shops are also open on Saturday. These days a few supermarkets and beauty salons in the capital are working 24 hours.
Communications: Telephone, fax and Internet access is available in Addis Ababa in most hotels, at the Ethiopian Telecommunications Authority main office and at private Internet service centers situated around the city.
Courier and Money Transfer Services: Money transfers can be made through Western Union and Money Gram. Both have representative branches in Addis Ababa and also make their services available from private and national banks.
Four courier service providers DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT and EMS have offices in Addis Ababa.
Currency: The local currency is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB), made up of 100 cents. Birr notes are available in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100. Visitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency but this must be declared on arrival to the customs authorities on the appropriate blue-colored form.
Foreign currency may only be exchanged at authorized banks and hotels and a receipt must be obtained. The currency declaration form must be retained as this will be required by customs on departure. Visitors may change back any surplus Ethiopian Birr to cash at the airport before departure.
In addition to any Ethiopian Birr, along with the currency exchange form you must bring with you all receipts for exchange transactions.
Currency Importing: provided declaration is made to the customs on arrival.
Week Holiday: Sunday is the weekly day of rest.
Customs: Duty-free imports are permitted for up to:

1. 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 1/2 lb of tobacco
2. 2 liters of alcoholic beverages
3. Half-liter or two bottles of perfume.