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Capitals of the world
Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia: facts and figures
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia. It has about 5,200,000 residents, which makes it the 31st most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 2,444 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Djibouti, 560 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Continent | Africa |
| City population | 5,200,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 31st of 172 |
| Elevation | 2,444 m |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Time zone | Africa/Addis_Ababa |
| Coordinates | 9.03° N, 38.74° E |
| Country population | 135,472,051 residents |
| Country GDP | 126.4 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $933 |
| Life expectancy | 67.6 years |
| Internet users | 21.9 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Addis Ababa averages 14.8 °C from December to February and 14.4 °C from June to August. August is the coldest month of the year and March the warmest, and the city receives 1,427 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 14.5 °C |
| February | 15.8 °C |
| March | 16.6 °C |
| April | 16.4 °C |
| May | 16.1 °C |
| June | 15.0 °C |
| July | 14.1 °C |
| August | 14.0 °C |
| September | 14.0 °C |
| October | 14.4 °C |
| November | 14.4 °C |
| December | 14.1 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Elevation: highest capital in Africa (2,444 m).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Djibouti is the closest capital to Addis Ababa.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Djibouti | Djibouti | 560 km |
| Asmara | Eritrea | 702 km |
| Juba | South Sudan | 917 km |
| Sanaa | Yemen | 921 km |
| Khartoum | Sudan | 984 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Addis Ababa to a place and a number you already know: it is 560 km from Djibouti, and it is the 31st largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Ethiopia compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- Founding date: Wikidata, earliest recorded founding claim.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia, in Africa, with about 5,200,000 residents, averaging 14.8 °C from December to February and 14.4 °C from June to August.
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Play today's DailyGeo puzzleFrequently asked questions
What is the capital of Ethiopia?
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia. It has about 5,200,000 residents and lies in Africa.
How many people live in Addis Ababa?
About 5,200,000, which ranks Addis Ababa 31st of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Addis Ababa?
Addis Ababa averages 14.8 °C from December to February and 14.4 °C from June to August, with 1,427 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Addis Ababa?
GDP per capita in the country is $933, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Djibouti, capital of Djibouti: facts and figures
Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti: 600,000 residents, 4 m above sea level, 25.3 °C from December to February and 35.0 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Asmara, capital of Eritrea: facts and figures
Asmara is the capital of Eritrea: 960,000 residents, 2,323 m above sea level, 14.7 °C from December to February and 18.0 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Juba, capital of South Sudan: facts and figures
Juba is the capital of South Sudan: 450,000 residents, 510 m above sea level, 30.5 °C from December to February and 26.4 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.