Map of Ethiopia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: On 28 May 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) toppled the authoritarian government of MENGISTU Haile-Mariam and took control in Addis Ababa. A new constitution was promulgated in December 1994 and national and regional popular elections were held in May and June 1995.


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Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 38 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,127,127 km²
Land: 1,119,683 km²
Water: 7,444 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 5,311 km
Border countries: (5) Djibouti 337 km; , Eritrea 912 km; , Kenya 830 km; , Somalia 1,626 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 -125 m
Extremes highest point: Ras Dashen Terara 4,620 m

Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 40%
Forests and woodland: 25%
Other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,900 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked_entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993


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Population: 59,680,383 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 2.16% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Ethiopian(s)
Adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Languages: Amharic, Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga, Somali, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

Religions: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 46% (male 13,787,810; female 13,703,546)
15-64 years: 51% (male 15,398,123; female 15,141,892)
65 years and over: 3% (male 745,737; female 903,275) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.16% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 44.34 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 21.43 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)
Note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan, Kenya, and Somalia for refuge from war and famine in earlier years, is expected to continue slowly in 1998; small numbers of Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting in their own countries, began returning to their homes in 1998

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 124.57 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 40.46 years
Male: 39.22 years
Female: 41.73 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.81 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 35.5%
Male: 45.5%
Female: 25.3% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Conventional short form: Ethiopia
Local long form: YeItyop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
Local short form: YeItyop'iya
Abbreviation: FDRE

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Addis Ababa

Administrative divisions: 9 states and 2 chartered cities*:Addis Ababa*; Afar; Amhara; Benshangul/Gumuz (Benishangul-Gumaz; Dire Dawa*; Gambela (Gambella; Harari (Harar; Oromia (Oromiya; Somalia (Somali; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP; Tigray (Tigre)

Dependent areas

Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world_at least 2,000 years

National holiday: National Day, 28 May (1991) (defeat of MENGISTU regime)

Constitution: promulgated December 1994

Legal system: currently transitional mix of national and regional courts

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President NEGASSO Gidada (since 22 August 1995)
Head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided 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; election last held June 1995 (next to be held NA 2001); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections
Election results: NEGASSO Gidada elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives_NA

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or upper chamber (117 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or lower chamber (548 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
Elections: regional and national popular elections were held in May and June 1995 (next to be held NA 2000)
Election results: percent of vote_NA; seats_NA; note_EPRDF won nearly all seats

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 candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council to the House of People's Representatives for appointment

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos
In the us chancery: 2,134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-2,281
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 328-7,950
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador David H. SHINN
From the us embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
From the us telephone: [251] (1) 550,666
From the us FAX: [251] (1) 551,328

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 colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Ethiopia remains one of the least developed countries in the world. Its economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for more than half of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates 60% of export earnings. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent periods of drought, poor cultivation practices, and deterioration of internal security conditions. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs from the agricultural sector. Over 90% of large-scale industry, but less than 10% of agriculture, is state-run. The government is considering selling off a portion of state-owned plants and is implementing reform measures that are gradually liberalizing the economy. A major medium-term problem is the improvement of roads, water supply, and other parts of an infrastructure badly neglected during years of civil strife. Renewed fighting with Eritrea dims economic prospects for 1999.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 6% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $560 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 55%
Industry: 12%
Services: 33% (1995 est.)

Agriculture products: cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes; hides, cattle, sheep, goats

Industries: food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: NA
By occupation agricultureandanimalhusbandry: 80%
By occupation governmentand services: 12%
By occupation industry and construction: 8% (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1 billion
Expenditures: $1.48 billion, including capital expenditures of $415 million (FY96/97)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 8 July_7 July

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $550 million (f.o.b., 1998)
Commodities: coffee, leather products, gold, oilseeds (1995)
Partners: Germany 26%, Japan 11%, Italy 10%, UK 8%, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia (1996 est.)

Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles and aircraft (1994)
Partners: Italy 11%, US 11%, Germany 7%, Saudi Arabia 4% (1996 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $10 billion (1996)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1 (end of period)_7.58 (January 1999), 6.8640 (1997), 6.4260 (1996), 6.3200 (1995), 5.9500 (1994)
Note: since May 1993, the birr market rate has been determined in an interbank market supported by weekly wholesale auction; prior to that date, the official rate was pegged to US$1 = 5.000 birr


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Electricity
Production: 1.32 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 7.58%
Production by source hydro: 87.12%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 5.3% (1996)
Consumption: 1.32 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 100,000 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: open wire and microwave radio relay system adequate for government use
Domestic: open wire and microwave radio relay
International: 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)

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $138 million (FY98/99)
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (FY98/99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 84 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 11
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 73
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 36
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (1998 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
Narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
Note: in April 1998, Djibouti and Ethiopia announced plans to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,264 GRT/94,489 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 7, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: most of the southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden; dispute over alignment of boundary with Eritrea led to armed conflict in 1998, which is still unresolved despite arbitration efforts

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (chat) for local use and regional export