You’ve probably seen the viral TikToks or the shocked tweets. Someone lands at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, looks at their receipt, and sees a year that makes them think they’ve accidentally flown through a wormhole.
Honestly, it’s not a glitch.
If you’re asking what is the year in Ethiopia right now, the answer depends entirely on when you’re reading this, but for most of 2026, Ethiopia is actually living in the year 2018.
While the rest of us are worrying about 2026 problems, Ethiopians are technically midway through 2018. It sounds like a marketing gimmick for a "13 Months of Sunshine" tourism campaign—which, by the way, is a real slogan there—but it is the literal, legal, and official reality for over 120 million people.
Why Ethiopia is Seven Years "Behind" (Spoiler: They Aren't)
The first thing you’ve gotta understand is that Ethiopians don’t think they’re "behind" at all. They just never hopped on the Gregorian bandwagon.
Basically, the whole world uses the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Most countries switched because of trade, colonization, or just to make international banking less of a headache. Ethiopia, having never been colonized, kept its own system.
The discrepancy comes down to a massive theological disagreement from centuries ago. It’s all about the Annunciation—the day the birth of Jesus was announced.
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The Catholic Church adjusted its calculations around 525 AD. However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church stuck with the older calculations of an Egyptian monk named Annianus of Alexandria. He placed the birth of Christ about seven to eight years later than the Roman calculations.
Because of that one ancient math pivot, the calendars have been out of sync ever since.
The 13th Month Is Actually Real
It’s not just the year that’s different. The way the months are sliced up is totally unique too.
Most of us deal with the "30 days hath September" rhyme, trying to remember which months have 31 days and why February is so short. Ethiopia just decided to make it easy.
In the Ethiopian calendar, there are 12 months that are exactly 30 days each. If you’re doing the math, that only equals 360 days. To fix the remaining gap, they have a 13th month called Pagumē.
Pagumē is basically a "mini-month" at the end of the year. Usually, it’s only five days long. Every four years (on a leap year), it gets a sixth day. Imagine having a five-day buffer month where you just wrap up the year before the New Year starts in September.
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What the months are actually called
You won't find January or February on a traditional Ethiopian calendar. Instead, the year kicks off with Meskerem in September.
Here is how the year usually flows:
- Meskerem (Starts Sept 11/12)
- Tikimt (October)
- Hedar (November)
- Tahsas (December)
- T’er (January)
- Yekatit (February)
- Megabit (March)
- Miazia (April)
- Genbot (May)
- Sene (June)
- Hamle (July)
- Nehassei (August)
- Pagumē (The short 13th month in early September)
The Time Is Also Different (Wait, What?)
If the seven-year gap didn't mess with your head enough, the daily clock will.
If you tell someone in Ethiopia to meet you at 2:00, and you mean 2:00 PM, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
In Ethiopia, the 12-hour clock starts at sunrise, not at midnight.
Think about it: it actually makes a lot of sense for an equatorial country. The sun rises at roughly the same time every day. So, 6:00 AM in "international time" is actually 12:00 AM (the start of the day) in Ethiopian time.
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When an Ethiopian says "it's 2 o'clock," they mean it’s been two hours since the sun came up. That’s 8:00 AM for the rest of the world.
Travelers get confused by this constantly. You’ll be looking at a bus schedule or an appointment and think you have all day, only to realize you’re six hours late because of the "sunrise clock." Most people in big cities like Addis Ababa are used to switching between "Ethiopian time" and "European time" for foreigners, but in the countryside, the local clock is king.
The Cultural Impact of 2018
Living in 2018 while the world is in 2026 creates some interesting quirks.
For one, New Year’s Day—known as Enkutatash—doesn't happen on January 1st. It happens on September 11th (or 12th in leap years). It marks the end of the big rainy season. The hills turn bright yellow with "Adey Ababa" flowers, and it’s a massive celebration of renewal.
International businesses and airlines (like Ethiopian Airlines) have to run on dual systems. Imagine being a software developer in Ethiopia. You’re writing code for a global bank that needs to sync 2026 transactions with a local system that thinks it’s 2018. It’s a literal nightmare for database management.
But for the average person? It’s just life. You celebrate Christmas (Genna) in January and the New Year in September.
What This Means for Your Travel Plans
If you're heading to Ethiopia soon, don't worry about your phone. Most smartphones will detect the local network and show you the "Western" date and time automatically. However, keep an eye on:
- Expiration Dates: Always check the year on local food products. If you see a "best before" date of 2018, it might actually be fresh!
- Official Paperwork: If you’re dealing with government offices or local contracts, clarify which calendar they are using. Usually, they’ll list both to avoid confusion.
- Holidays: Don't expect things to be open on Western holidays. Ethiopia has its own schedule for Easter (Fasika) and Christmas, which usually fall later than the Western dates.
The best way to handle it is to just lean into the "time travel" aspect. There’s something kinda cool about getting a "second chance" at 2018.
Actionable Tips for Navigating Ethiopian Time:
- The "Six-Hour Rule": If a local tells you a time, add six hours to it to get the Western equivalent (e.g., 3 o'clock local = 9 o'clock Western).
- Double-Check Flights: Ethiopian Airlines uses the Gregorian calendar for all international bookings, so you don't need to worry about missing your flight back to 2026.
- Learn the Months: If you're staying for a while, knowing that Meskerem is the start of the year will save you a lot of confusion when looking at local event posters.
- Check the Calendar App: Most Ethiopian phones have a toggle in the settings to show the Ethiopian calendar alongside the Gregorian one—it’s a lifesaver.