First, let’s cover the geographic and historical basics for Ethiopia:

• It is Africa’s oldest independent country.
• It is the second-largest in population.
• Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never been colonized.
• It borders Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, and South Sudan.
• It is predominantly Christian (62%).
• There are over 80 ethnic groups, but the top four are Oromo (34.5%), Amhara (26.9%), Somali (6.2%), and Tigrayan (6.1%).

Next, let’s get the political context:

• The current Prime Minister, Aiby Ahmed, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in November 2019 for “resolving the 20-year border conflict with Eritrea.”
• Before Prime Minister Aiby was elected in 2018, Ethiopia was ruled by the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) “as part of a coalition after overthrowing the former dictatorship in 1991.”