ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA Addis Ababa ( Amharic : አዲስ አበባ ? Addis Abäba , IPA: [adˈdis ˈabəba] ( listen ) , “new flower”; Oromo : Finfinne , [3] [4] [fɪnˈfɪ́n.nɛ́] "Natural Spring(s)"), sometimes spelled Addis Abeba (the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority ), is the capital city of Ethiopia . Founded in 1886, it is the largest city in Ethiopia, with a population of 3,384,569 according to the 2007 population census with annual growth rate of 3.8%. This number has been increased from the originally published 2,738,248 figure and appears to be still largely underestimated. [2] [5] As a chartered city ( ras gez astedader ), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state . It is where the African Union is and its predecessor the OAU was based. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and numerous other continental and international organizations. Addis Ababa is therefore often...