Ethiopian Flag

Last verified: Friday, 26. April 2024 at 08:02 AM

Ethiopia Travel Advisory

Warning Level Icon We advise caution when travelling to Ethiopia

Local Situation: 3.5 / 5

We advise caution when travelling to Ethiopia. We detected travel advisories from 8 sources for this specific country.

Regional Situation: 3.8 / 5

Ethiopia shares a land border with 5 neighbouring states. For this region of countries (including Ethiopia), the Advisory Index is 3.8 (average value over all countries). All countries have some reported advisories: Somalia (5), Sudan (4.7), Djibouti (3.2), Eritrea with 3.2 and Kenya with 3.1 (of 5).

Current informationen on Covid-19 in Ethiopia

There are currently no officially reported cases of infections with SARS-CoV-2 (or Coronavirus) in Ethiopia. As reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control this morning (~8:30am CET).

There are currently no officially reported deaths related to this disease in Ethiopia.

Source: www.ecdc.europa.eu

Advice scoring history for Ethiopia

Chart of the risk level over that last 200 days. This is the daily calculated travel risk for Ethiopia.

Chart of the number of sources over that last 200 days. This is the daily number of advisory sources (of any rating) that have been active on that day.

Note: Changes happening on the 28th/29th of July 2019 are related to a change in the software and number of sources processed.

Rating Details (single travel warnings)

These are the individual advisories published by other countries about the destination Ethiopia from a travellers perspective. The scoring of all messages combined is the foundation for the current rating 3.5 out of 5.0.

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 4 - Reconsider travelling.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: New Zealand

Flag of New Zealand

Avoid non-essential travel to the Danakil desert area (east of the Dessie-Adigrat road and north of the Dessie-Djibouti road). There is a significant threat to your security in these areas due to cross border tensions, the activities of armed militant groups, the risk of kidnapping and armed banditry, and the presence of landmines (level 3 of 4).  Avoid non-essential ...

Source: https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/ethiopia

Danger level: 0 - Travel is usually safe.

This is a regional information covering specific areas of Ethiopia.

Issued by: New Zealand government

Info: If you are planning international travel at this time, please read our COVID-19 related travel advice here, alongside our destination specific travel advice below.

Danger level: 2 - Travel is usually safe.

This is a regional information covering specific areas of Ethiopia.

Issued by: New Zealand government

Info: Exercise increased caution in the city of Addis Ababa due to the unstable political situation and ethnic tensions (level 2 of 4).

Danger level: 5 - Do not travel.

This is a regional information covering specific areas of Ethiopia.

Issued by: New Zealand government

Info: Do not travel to more remote regions or within 10 kilometers of Ethiopia's borders with Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Eritrea, with the exception of Highway 80 and the Moyale border crossing along the Kenyan border due to the high risk of violence, kidnapping and landmines. Despite a peace agreement in November 2022 between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains a heavily militarized security corridor. Border roads with Eritrea are closed due to the conflict in Tigray. Conditions at the border may change with no warning (level 4 of 4). Do not travel to the Regional State of Tigray, the Regional State of Amhara, and the northern areas of Afar Regional States bordering Tigray due to due to the ongoing military conflict and uncertain security situation, which could deteriorate with little warning (level 4 of 4). Do not travel to most parts of the Somali region, specifically the Nogob (previously Fik), Jarar (previously Degehabur), Shabelle (previously Gode), Korahe and Dollo (previously Warder) zones and within 100 kilometres of the border with Somalia in the Afder and Liben zones, due to the high risk of terrorist attacks, kidnapping, violence and landmines (level 4 of 4). Do not travel to certain parts of the Gambella region (the districts of Akobo, Wantawo, Jikawo and Lare in the Nuer zone and Jore district in the Agnuak zone) due to the high risk of violence and the volatile security situation (level 4 of 4). Do not travel to parts of the Oromia regional state (the West Wollega Zone, East Wollega Zone, Kelem Wollega, Horo Gudru Wollega) and Benishangul Gumuz Regional State due to high degrees of violent civil unrest (level 4 of 4).

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 3 - Travel with high caution.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Germany

Flag of Germany

Äthiopien: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung). The German government advises againt travelling this country.

Source: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/aethiopiensicherheit/209504

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 3 - Travel with high caution.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Canada

Flag of Canada

The Canadian goverment suggests: Avoid non-essential travel (with regional advisories).

Source: https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/ethiopia

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 4 - Reconsider travelling.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Finland

Flag of Finland

Undvik icke nödvändiga resor - Undvik alla resor till följande områden: Etiopiens gränsområden, Amhara, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz, gränsområdena mellan Afar och Tigray, särskilt västra Oromia, Gambella, Somali. Undvik att röra dig utomhus efter mörkrets inbrott och var försiktig också under dagtid. Ambassaden rekommenderar att alla som reser till ...

Source: https://um.fi/resemeddelande/-/c/ET

Danger level: 3 - Travel with high caution.

This is a regional information covering specific areas of Ethiopia.

Issued by: Finnish government

Coverage: Addis Ababa

Info: Iaktta särskild försiktighet

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 4 - Reconsider travelling.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Australia

Flag of Australia

We've reviewed our advice for Ethiopia. We now advise, do not travel to West Shewa in Oromia Regional, Somali Regional State (except for Nogob, Erer, Sitti and up to 40km of Ethiopia’s border with Somalia in Fafan) and to within 30 km of the border with Tigray and Amhara in Afar regional state. Additional do not travel advisories apply in other areas of Ethiopia. ...

Source: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/ethiopia

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 4 - Reconsider travelling.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: United States

Flag of United States

Reissued with obsolete COVID-19 page links removed. Reconsider travel to Ethiopia due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, communications disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping in border areas. Do Not Travel To: Tigray Region and border with Eritrea due to sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, and crime. Afar-Tigray border areas due to sporadic ...

Source: http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/ethiopia-travel-advisory.html

Individual rating changes for Ethiopia

This is the recent history of individual changes of travel advices that affected the total asessment of Ethiopia. Most recent events first.

Changes from September 3rd 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 3.6 to 3.5. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of United States

The United States government decreased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 5.0 (by -1.0).

Changes from August 7th 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 3.3 to 3.6. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of United States

The United States government increased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 5.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 2.0 (by +3.0).

Changes from March 22nd 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 3.1 to 3.3. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Canada

The Canadian government increased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 3.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 2.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from March 18th 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 2.9 to 3.1. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Australia

The Australian government increased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 5.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 4.0 (by +1.0).

Flag of Ireland

The Irish government increased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 3.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from March 16th 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 2.7 to 2.9. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Australia

The Australian government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 4.0.

Changes from March 14th 2020

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 2.6 to 2.7. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Denmark

The Danish government increased their existing warning for Ethiopia to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 3.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from September 25th 2019

The total rating for Ethiopia changed from 0.0 to 0.0. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of United States

The United States government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 2.0.

Flag of Austria

The Austrian government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of Canada

The Canadian government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 2.0.

Flag of New Zealand

The New Zealand government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 2.0.

Flag of Ireland

The Irish government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of Finland

The Finnish government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of Denmark

The Danish government issued a new warning for Ethiopia with a rating of 3.0.

About Ethiopia

Ethiopia with its capital Addis Ababa is a country in Africa (Eastern Africa), slightly less than twice the size of Texas (1,127,127 km²). The country is located Eastern Africa, west of Somalia. The climate can be described as tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation. The landscape is high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley. With a population of about 78.25 million citizens.

Ethiopian flag

Flag of Ethiopia

Introduction Video

Basic Statistics and Facts

Topic Value
Capital Addis Ababa
Population about 78.25 million
Size 1.127.127 km²
Size comparable to slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Common languages Amharic, English, Oromo, Sinhala, Somali, Tigrinya
Currency Birr (short: ETB)
Common voltage (electricity) 220V - 50Hz
Used GSM Frequencies 900
International phone prefix +251
Internet Top Level Domain .et
Countrycode: ISO Alpha 2 ET
Countrycode: ISO Alpha 3 ETH
Countrycode: ISO Numeric 231

Environmental problems and natural hazzards

These are problems Ethiopia is facing. Environmental issues refer to damages of the nature due to industry and society. Natural hazzards refer to potential dangers originating in nature.

Environmental problems

  • deforestation
  • desertification
  • overgrazing
  • soil erosion
  • water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

Natural hazzards

  • frequent droughts
  • geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
  • volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m), which has caused frequent lava flows in recent years, is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayt

Top Industries and Agricultural Products

These are the main product industries and agricultural products of Ethiopia. This list indicates what this country is good at producing.

Industries

  1. beverages
  2. cement
  3. chemicals
  4. food processing
  5. garments
  6. leather
  7. metals processing
  8. textiles

Agriculture products

  1. cattle
  2. cereals
  3. coffee
  4. cotton
  5. cut flowers
  6. fish
  7. goats
  8. hides
  9. khat
  10. oilseed

Ethiopian Imports and Exports

These are the main product categories of imports and exports to and from Ethiopia.

Export products

  1. by value)
  2. coffee
  3. edible vegetables
  4. flowers (7%)
  5. gold (13%)
  6. khat (17%)
  7. live animals (7%)
  8. meat products (3%)
  9. oilseeds (17%)
  10. raw leather products (3%)

Import products

  1. (10%)
  2. (13%)
  3. (14%)
  4. aircraft
  5. by value)
  6. chemicals
  7. electrical materials
  8. fertilizers (4%)
  9. machinery
  10. metal

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current travel advisory for Ethiopia?

Ethiopia is currently rated at 3,5 out of a possible 5.0. Collected from 8 official sources. We advise caution when travelling to Ethiopia.

Is it safe to travel Ethiopia in 2024?

Visiting the country Ethiopia is usually fine. The score is at 3,5 Just keep an eye open, obey local rules and you'll most likely be fine.

How many travel advisories do you know for Ethiopia?

We currently evaluate 11 official sources each morning. Today, we know of active advisories from 8 individual sources for Ethiopia.

What is the current Corona virus situation in Ethiopia?

There are currently no officially reported cases of infections with SARS-CoV-2 (or Coronavirus) in Ethiopia. As reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control this morning (~8:30am CET). There are currently no officially reported deaths related to this disease in Ethiopia.

What is the size of Ethiopia?

Ethiopia has a size of 1,127,127 km² or 435,186 mi² which is slightly less than twice the size of Texas.

Common Frequently Asked Questions

For non-country specific questions, please check our global F.A.Q.