Everyday practical information for Ethiopia

The coffee limit

• Two kilograms per passenger. Ethiopian Airlines states that anyone leaving Ethiopia may take out no more than 2 kg of coffee products unless the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority issues a special authorisation.
• This is the country coffee came from and the shops know it. Buy accordingly, and put it where customs can see it rather than buried in a case.
• Plastic barrels and drums are forbidden as packing material for personal effects shipped to Addis, which is a niche rule with a real fine behind it.

The calendar

• Ethiopia uses its own calendar, seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one, with thirteen months: twelve of thirty days and a short thirteenth.
• Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, falls in September.
• Dates on local paperwork may not be the date you expect. Confirm which calendar a domestic ticket or a permit is written in.

The clock

• The traditional Ethiopian clock counts from dawn, so 1 o'clock is roughly 07:00 by the international clock and 7 o'clock is roughly 13:00.
• Ask "Ethiopian time or European time?" when someone gives you a meeting time. Everyone is used to the question.

Power

• 230 V, 50 Hz, sockets type C, F and G. Continental round two-pin and British three-pin both appear.
• Power cuts are frequent. A battery pack is not optional here.

Language

• Amharic is the working language of the federal government, written in the Ge'ez script, which is not an alphabet you can guess at.
• English is the medium of secondary and higher education and is widely spoken in Addis and in tourism.