|
Background: |
Unique among African countries,
the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule
with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II.
In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who
had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody
coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the
regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution
was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held
in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace
treaty in December 2000. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission in
November 2007 remotely demarcated the border by coordinates, but final
demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold due to
Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it
to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
|
Location: |
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
|
|
Geographic coordinates: |
8 00 N, 38 00 E |
|
Map references: |
Africa |
|
Area: |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly less than twice the
size of Texas |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861
km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
|
Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
|
Maritime claims: |
none (landlocked) |
|
Climate: |
tropical monsoon with wide
topographic-induced variation |
|
Terrain: |
high plateau with central
mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Denakil
Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
|
Natural resources: |
small reserves of gold,
platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
|
Land use: |
arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65%
other: 89.34% (2005) |
|
Irrigated land: |
2,900 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
110 cu km (1987) |
|
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
Total: 5.56 cu km/yr
(6%/0%/94%)
Per capita: 72 cu m/yr (2002) |
|
Natural hazards: |
geologically active Great Rift
Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts
|
|
Environment - current issues: |
deforestation; overgrazing;
soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from
water-intensive farming and poor management |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not
ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
|
Geography - note: |
landlocked - entire coastline
along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24
May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume,
rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops
are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and
castor bean |
|
Population: |
76,511,887
note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy,
higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 43.4% (male
16,657,155/female 16,553,812)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male
20,558,026/female 20,639,076)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male
953,832/female 1,149,986) (2007 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 18 years
male: 17.8 years
female: 18.1 years (2007 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
2.272% (2007 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
37.39 births/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
14.67 deaths/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is
expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and
Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in
their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2007 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.829 male(s)/female
total population: 0.995 male(s)/female
(2007 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 91.92
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.57 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 81.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 49.23
years
male: 48.06 years
female: 50.44 years (2007
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
5.1 children born/woman (2007
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
4.4% (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
1.5 million (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
120,000 (2003 est.) |
|
Major infectious diseases: |
degree of risk: very
high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal
diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne
diseases: malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis are high risks in some
locations
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact
disease: schistosomiasis (2007) |
|
Nationality: |
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
|
Ethnic groups: |
Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%,
Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%,
other 15.4% (1994 census) |
|
Religions: |
Christian 60.8% (Orthodox
50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994
census) |
|
Languages: |
Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%,
Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna
1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
(1994 census) |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1% (2003 est.)
|
|
Country name: |
conventional long form:
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short
form: Ethiopia
local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi
Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
local short form: Ityop'iya
former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa
abbreviation:
FDRE |
|
Government type: |
federal republic |
|
Capital: |
name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E
time
difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time) |
|
Administrative divisions: |
9 ethnically-based states
(kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations*
(astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar,
Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela
Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali),
Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples) |
|
Independence: |
oldest independent country in
Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
|
National holiday: |
National Day (defeat of
MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
|
Constitution: |
ratified 8 December 1994,
effective 22 August 1995 |
|
Legal system: |
based on civil law; currently
transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of
government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995)
cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December
1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and
approved by the House of People's Representatives
elections:
president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year
term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 October 2007 (next
to be held in October 2013); prime minister designated by the party in
power following legislative elections
election results: GIRMA
Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's
Representatives - 100% |
|
Legislative branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists
of the House of Federation (or upper chamber) (108 seats; members are
chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of
People's Representatives (or lower chamber) (547 seats; members are
directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be
held in 2010)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by
party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8,
independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2
note: irregularities at
some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain
constituencies |
|
Judicial branch: |
Federal Supreme Court (the
president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended
by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's
Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to
the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected
by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
Afar National Democratic Party
or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF
[Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP
[TEMESGEN Zewdie] (contains elements of the former CUD); Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an
alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's
Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopian People's Democratic
Front or SEPDF, and Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage
Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic
Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or
SPDP; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens
of small parties |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
Ethiopian People's Patriotic
Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation
Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa] |
|
International organization participation: |
ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM,
OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO,
UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195
consulate(s) general: Los
Angeles
consulate(s): New York |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald Y. YAMAMOTO
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis
Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: [251] 11-517-40-00
FAX: [251]
11-517-40-01 |
|
Flag description: |
three equal horizontal bands of
green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow
rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk
centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in
Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by
other African countries upon independence that they became known as the
pan-African colors |
|
Economy - overview: |
Ethiopia's poverty-stricken
economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost half of GDP, 60% of
exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from
frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the
Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006, but
historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to
supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought
have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November
2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF voted to forgive
Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the
government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the
system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as
entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought
struck again late in 2002, leading to a 3.3% decline in GDP in 2003.
Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in
2004-07. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$55.07 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$16.9 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
9.8% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$700 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 48.8%
industry: 12.9%
services: 38.3% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
27.27 million (1999) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 80%
industry: 8%
services: 12% (1985) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
NA% |
|
Population below poverty line: |
38.7% (FY05/06 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 25.5% (2000) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
30 (2000) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
15.9% (2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
27.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $2.944 billion
expenditures: $3.683 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
54.5% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
cereals, pulses, coffee,
oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle,
sheep, goats; fish |
|
Industries: |
food processing, beverages,
textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
9% (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
2.864 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 1.3%
hydro: 97.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.2%
(2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
2.577 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
7.334 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption: |
29,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
0 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - imports: |
28,460 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
428,000 bbl (1 January 2006
est.) |
|
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2005) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
23.9 billion cu m (1 January
2006 est.) |
|
Current account balance: |
-$1.851 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$1.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities: |
coffee, qat, gold, leather
products, live animals, oilseeds |
|
Exports - partners: |
China 11%, Germany 9.1%, Japan
7.8%, US 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, Djibouti 6%, Italy 5.2% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$4.54 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
food and live animals,
petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles,
cereals, textiles |
|
Imports - partners: |
Saudi Arabia 18.1%, China
11.4%, India 8.1%, Italy 5.1% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$1.6 billion (FY05/06) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$840 million (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$3.793 billion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$NA |
|
Currency (code): |
birr (ETB) |
|
Currency code: |
ETB |
|
Exchange rates: |
birr per US dollar - 8.96
(2007), 8.69 (2006), 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a
daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank
|
|
Fiscal year: |
8 July - 7 July |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
725,000 (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
866,700 (2006) |
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment:
inadequate telephone system; the number of fixed lines and mobile
telephones is increasing from a very small base; combined fixed and
mobile-cellular teledensity is only about 2 per 100 persons
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication
in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the
national trunk service
international: country code - 251;
open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and
Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2
Pacific Ocean) |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)
|
|
Radios: |
15.2 million (2002) |
|
Television broadcast stations: |
1 (plus 24 repeaters) (2001)
|
|
Televisions: |
682,000 (2002) |
|
Internet country code: |
.et |
|
Internet hosts: |
89 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2002) |
|
Internet users: |
164,000 (2005) |
|
Airports: |
84 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 15
over
3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m:
5
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 69
over
3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m:
11
914 to 1,523 m: 29
under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
|
Railways: |
total: 699 km (Ethiopian
segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 699
km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway under joint control of Djibouti
and Ethiopia (2006) |
|
Roadways: |
total: 36,469 km
paved: 6,980 km
unpaved: 29,489 km (2004) |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 10 ships (1000
GRT or over) 120,383 GRT/152,418 DWT
by type: cargo 8, roll
on/roll off 2 (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Ethiopia is landlocked and uses
the port of Djibouti |
|
Military branches: |
Ethiopian National Defense
Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) (2008)
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the
secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean
possession |
|
Military service age and obligation: |
18 years of age for compulsory
and voluntary military service (2001) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 18-49:
14,568,277
females age 18-49: 14,482,885 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 18-49:
8,072,755
females age 18-49: 7,902,660 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males age 18-49: 803,777
females age 18-49: 801,789 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
3% (2006) |
|
Disputes - international: |
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to
abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC)
delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line
detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping
Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the
25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for
six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and
reduced force of 17,000; the undemarcated former British administrative
line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within
Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces
invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in
January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in
Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern
Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
|
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 73,927 (Sudan), 15,901 (Somalia), 10,700 (Eritrea)
IDPs: 100,000-280,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000
and ethnic clashes in Gambela; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela
Provinces) (2006) |
|
Illicit drugs: |
transit hub for heroin
originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as
well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat
(khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and
Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed
financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center
|
This page was last updated on 12 February, 2008
|