With a population of 2,738,248 in 2007, Addis Ababa was the established Ethiopia capital since 1886. Being a chartered city, Addis Ababa has the advantage of being both a city and a state. Due largely to its diplomatic, political and historical continental significance, it is often called the ‘African Capital.’ As many as eighty different nationalities speaking eighty different languages reside in Addis Ababa. Extensive research has also shown that after studying 1,000 DNA specimens, there is proof that human beings originally came from this area.

Addis Ababa is also the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union. Preserved at the Ethiopian National Museum is a fossilized skeleton of Lucy, the early hominid. Meskel Square is quite a tourist attraction with its annual Meskel Festival attracting tourists and locals by the thousands. The city is also home to the Ethiopian Ethnological Museum, the Ethiopian Railway Museum and the National Postal Museum.