Historically, Ethiopia was divided into provinces, further subdivided into awrajjas or districts, until they were replaced by ethnolinguistic-based regions (kililoch) and chartered cities in 1995.
History
thumb|Map of the provinces of Ethiopia in 1935. (Derived from Perham, Margery; 1969): The Government of Ethiopia)|239x239px
Pre-1936
Older provinces (existing prior to the 1936–41 fascist Italian occupation), are still frequently used to indicate locations within Ethiopia. These include:
1942–1974
thumb|242x242px|Map of the provinces of the Ethiopian Empire
Ethiopia was divided into 12 provinces or governates-general (taklai ghizat) by Imperial Ethiopian Government Decree No. 1 of 1942 and later amendments.
The 12 provinces were:
Bale was created as a 13th province when it was split off from Harrarghe in 1960. Eritrea was united with Ethiopia and made a 14th province in 1962. By 1981 Addis Ababa had become a separate administrative division from Shewa, and Aseb was split off from Eritrea in 1981, making 16 administrative divisions in total. The Shengo established the regions in Proclamation No. 14 of 1987, on 18 September. There were thirty regions, consisting of five autonomous regions, and twenty-five administrative regions. The five autonomous regions were: