Plugs and voltage
Ethiopia uses Types C and F sockets; Types E, G and L are also found. Mains supply is 220 V at 50 Hz.
At 220 V, devices made only for 100–127 V (many American and Japanese hair dryers, curling irons and some shavers) will be damaged without a step-down converter. Chargers labelled “100–240V” work fine with just a plug adapter.
Money
ETB Ethiopian Birr ETB
Average in 2024: 1 USD = 82.60 ETB (World Bank). No daily reference rate is published for this currency by the ECB; check a live rate before exchanging.
Price level 30 (US = 100, 2024)
Everyday household prices in Ethiopia are about 30% of US prices when converted at market exchange rates: cheaper than the median country (50). All countries
Language
- Amharicofficial33%
Bars show the share of the population that speaks each language (CLDR estimates).
Time
Ethiopia is on UTC+3, with no daylight saving time.
Driving
Traffic in Ethiopia drives on the right, so the steering wheel is on the left.
Public holidays in the next 12 months
12 national public holidays from 2 November 2026. Banks, offices and many shops close; regional holidays are not shown. Dates marked “estimated” follow a lunar calendar and can move by a day.
January 2027
- Christmas Day
- Epiphany
March 2027
- Adwa Victory Day
- Eid al-Fitr (estimated)
April 2027
- Good Friday
May 2027
- International Workers' Day
- Easter Sunday
- Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day
- Eid al-Adha (estimated)
August 2027
- Prophet's Birthday (estimated)
September 2027
- Ethiopian New Year
- Finding of True Cross
Travel advisories
United States · State Department
Level 3 Reconsider travel
Read the full advisory. Checked 2026-11-02.
United Kingdom · FCDO
- FCDO advises against all travel to parts of the country
- FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country
Updated 2026-10-30. Read the full advice. Checked 2026-11-02.
Advisories are written for each government's own citizens and change without notice: read the original before you travel.
Other practical facts
- Calling code
- +251
- Internet domain
- .et
- Measurement
- Metric
- Paper size
- A4
- Week starts on
- Sunday
- Read more
- Wikipedia
More in Eastern Africa
Flag: Flag of Ethiopia.svg, Public domain. Arms: Emblem of Ethiopia.svg, Public domain. Electricity: resolved by intl.life from three sources, see methodology.
