a state in NE Africa, on the Red Sea: consolidated as an empire under Menelik II (1889–1913); federated with Eritrea from 1952 until 1993; Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military in 1974 and the monarchy was abolished in 1975; an independence movement in Eritrea was engaged in war with the government from 1961 until 1993. It lies along the Great Rift Valley and consists of deserts in the southeast and northeast and a high central plateau with many rivers (including the Blue Nile) and mountains rising over 4500 m (15 000 ft); the main export is coffee. Language: Amharic; Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya are also spoken. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: birr. Capital: Addis Ababa. Pop: 104 957 438 (2017 est). Area: 1 128 215 sq km (435 614sq miles)