It would be interesting insofar as such an event would closely resemble prophecies of the Christian Rapture, but the people being raptured wouldn’t be the ones that most people who subscribe to those prophecies would have expected, to say the least!
Ethiopia is a historically Christian Empire, for example their official calendar is still the local Christian one (Gregorian). While the type of Christianity practiced in the country is still vastly the local type of Orthodox, they have also had a rise in Evangelical population (the current president is a Muslim to Evangelical Christian convert).
A rapture like reading of the event is almost assured too (seeing how popular Evangelism is throughout other countries in East Africa).
Edit: I checked wikipedia and, apparently, Pentecostals make up a whopping 23% of the population. That is impressive amount.
As the other Dopers said above, there would be an immediate war between Eritrea, Djibouti, South Sudan, Kenya and Somalia as soon as they all realize that the vast expanse that was once Ethiopia is now totally uninhabited and it’s all land up for grabs. Kenya would probably have the upper hand. But there would also be total paranoia and terror that whatever it was that just vanished Ethiopia by magic might also make them vanish, too.
I’m curious why the OP chose Ethiopia in particular?
As we ponder this, I think we need to hear some more Mulatu Astatke.
It’s the country that has the largest population with the least amount of exports ($10 billion).
I think Somalia would throw the biggest party in its history.
Then, there could be a scramble to secure the waterways not only for their hydroelectric potential, but also because water may become more and more of a scarce resource in the (near) future.
If I am Ethiopian and visiting an old friend in Kalamazoo, MI do I also vanish?
Yes. I long ago invented a joke along those lines.
Ordinary Christian schmoe dies in some conventional way and finds themselves facing St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Pete hands them a clipboard w a paper form and a pen. “Here, fill this out.” Guy is overjoyed to realize his faith has been correct: there is a St. Peter, Pearly Gates, and all the rest, just as he had believed. Hooray!
Guy’s working his way down the form: name, former address on Earth, surviving kin, etc., etc. Finally gets to the last item:
Religion:
Jehovah’s Witness
Other
Yes, but that would be ICE, not what was going on in East Africa.
First, let’s look at a political map of Ethiopia.
Sudan would immediately seize control of the GERD and try to march up the Nile and try secure the entire Lake T’ana region. Their success is not assured as they are currently undergoing a civil war so it might fumble the ball and a joint Egypt-Sudan force would be required.
Eritrea would expand south trying to secure all of the land that is possible, both trying to prevent Sudan from claiming strategic highland and also trying to lay claim to what is traditionally the borders of Aksum/Habesha (a former governing state of which Ethiopians and Eritreans share heritage).
I’m not certain if South Sudan is able to project any sort of power to claim Ethiopia’s West Oromo and Gambela regions.
Uganda and Kenya would move in a joint manner to secure the southern highlands (what was formally the Oromo state) up to Addis Ababa and as far north as possible.
Somalia is in no shape to project ANY power so it would be non-state actors (most likely Al-shabaab and Puntland militia and Somaliland forces) who would try to occupy the entire length of the Shebelle river (the former Ogaden state) which would stop at the walled city of Harar or Dire Dawa . It would be to 1) absorb historic Somali land deny any power to other groups who have equal rights to inherit this land.
Djibouti would need to expand lest they fall victim to the massive shift of power swirling around them. Luckily there is the entire Afar triangle, however they do not have the numbers to cover this vast expanse of land.
I pulled all of this out of my arse. Alt-history is not my thing.
Why does the OP mention Ethiopia in particular? Does somebody they don’t like live there?
Would they be curious about the population of any other nation disappearing? Tuvalu? Comoros? Timor-Leste? Kiribati?
From this wikiarticle:
the Chinese ambassador in Addis Ababa stated there were 60,000 Chinese in a January 2016 public interview
Would they disappear too? That would complicate things. Would they remain? That would complicate things even more.
As for the US, they have military bases just around the corner in
Djibouti (Camp Lemonier): In the East African nation of Djibouti lies a US military base that was originally established as a garrison for the French Foreign Legion.
Kenya (Manda Bay): This resort location in Kenya has been used by US troops as a base of operation for years now. In 2006, this base became an airfield with increased personnel, aircraft, and operations. According to the US, this base was set up to train African partners, respond to crises, and protect U.S. interests.
Egypt (MFO South Camp): The Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force that has a base in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. This team was created to ensure that the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty between Israel and Egypt is being adhered to. The US military also runs a naval medical research unit in Cairo known as Namru. This base is used for researching infectious diseases and their prevention. I guess trump is about to close that one and turn it into a resort or a golf club.
And tens of thousands of international humanitarian aid workers.
Oh, yes! Imagine the conspiracy theories! Both if they stayed and if they disappeared too!
In this hypothesis that the entire population of Ethiopia vanishes. We are talking about an event that has no equal in history nor any explanation rooted in reason as we know of it in nature.
In this case the only logical explanation would need to be super natural (of any wild conception).
Maybe, someone had a magic button. I hate those fucking things!
Only people physically present in Ethiopia vanish.
Thanos, is that you? Trying to re-start the Infinity War again but on a smaller scale?
I vote for a large chunk of the world being horrified and dumbfounded while a significant opportunistic minority immediately trying to seize Ethiopian resources, leading to war and other Bad Things in the region.
According to the OP,
Which seems like a decent choice to maximize the immediate human fallout while minimizing the immediate direct economic fallout.
Everything interesting that happens next will be mostly about how the world reacts, not about the loss of those folks’ output.
Very clever choice.