China's top legislator Wu Bangguo is to pay an official visit to Ethiopia Saturday as part of his five-nation African tour which includes Algeria, Gabon, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Seychelles.
The following are some basic facts about the country:
Located in Eastern Africa, Ethiopia lies west of Somalia with Sudan to its north and Kenya to its south.
The country, with its capital in Addis Ababa, has a total area of 1,103,600 sq km. Ethiopia is a landlocked country. The climate can be described as tropical monsoon but it varies greatly depending on the topography.
Some 77.4 million people from over 80 ethnic groups live in Ethiopia, including Oromo, Amhara, Tigre and others. Most of its people are followers of Islam and Ethiopian Orthodox.
The languages spoken in the country include Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, and Arabic. Other local languages include English which is the major foreign language taught in schools.
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II.
Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for roughly half of its GDP.
The Ethiopian government has increased investment on agricultural production, and efforts have been made to shore up exports and attract foreign investments since 2005, enabling the country a robust 8-percent annual economic growth.
Since China and Ethiopia forged diplomatic ties on Nov. 24, 1970, the two countries have maintained good relations. In recent years, bilateral ties have kept a momentum for sound and sustained development, with exchanges of high-level visits, political mutual trust and cooperation in various fields markedly increased.
In 2007, two-way trade between the two countries reached 807 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.3 percent.