Map of Ethiopia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Unique among African countries the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule one exception being the Italian occupation of 1936-41. 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 by a coalition of rebel forces the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in 1991. A constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000.


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

Land boundaries
Total: 5,328 km
Border countries: (5) 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
Extremes highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 9.9%
Permanent crops: 0.65%
Other: 89.45% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 1900 km² (1998 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; the Blue Nile the chief headstream of the Nile 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


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Population
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 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 2.64% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: 64% (1996)

Nationality
Noun: Ethiopian
Adjective: Ethiopian

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

Languages: Amharic Tigrinya Oromigna Guaragigna Somali Arabic other local languages 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: 47.2% (male 16,098,191; female 15,879,065)
15-64 years: 50% (male 17,005,387; female 16,801,536)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 854,023; female 1,034,829) (2002 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.64% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 44.31 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 18.04 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate
Note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan for refuge from war and famine in earlier years is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2002 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, 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/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female (2002 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 98.63 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 44.21 years
Female: 45.09 years (2002 est.)
Male: 43.36 years

Total fertility rate: 6.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 10.63% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 3 million (1999 est.)
Deaths: 280,000 (1999 est.)

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 short form: Ityop'iya
Former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa
Local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
Abbreviation: FDRE

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Addis Ababa

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)

Dependent areas

Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2000 years

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

Constitution: ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995

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 GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
Head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA 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; election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2007); 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
Elections: last held 14 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2005)
Note: irregularities and violence at a number of polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought
Election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - OPDO 177, ANDM 134, TPLF 38, WGGPDO 27, EPRDF 19, SPDO 18, GNDM 15, KSPDO 10, ANDP 8, GPRDF 7, SOPDM 7, BGPDUF 6, BMPDO 5, KAT 4, other regional political groupings 22, independents 8; note - 43 seats unconfirmed

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 [leader NA]; All-Amhara People's Organization or AAPO [HAILU Shawel]; Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM [ADDISU Legesse]; Bench Madji People's Democratic Organization or BMPDO [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [leader NA]; Ethiopian Democratic Party or EDP [ADMASSU Gebeyehu]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of ANDM OPDO SEPDF and TPLF); Gedeyo People's Revolutionary Democratic Fund or GPRDF [leader NA]; Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement orGNDM [leader NA]; Kafa Shaka People's Democratic Organization or KSPDO [leader NA]; Kembata Alabaa and Tembaro or KAT [leader NA]; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa Gudina]; Oromo National Congress or ONC [MERERA Gudina]; Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO [JUNEDI Sado]; Sidamo People's Democratic Organization or SPDO [leader NA]; South Ethiopia People's Democratic Front or SEPDF [KASSU Yilala]; South Omo People's Democratic Movement or SOPDM [leader NA]; Tigrayan People's Liberation Front or TPLF [MELES Zenawi]; Walayta Gamo Gofa Dawro and Konta People's Democratic Organization or WGGPDO [leader NA]; dozens of small parties

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador KASSAHUN Ayele
In the us chancery: 3,506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us consulates: New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 686-9,551
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia A. BRAZEAL
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 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture which accounts for half of GDP 85% of exports and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $260 million in 2000. Other important exports include qat live animals hides and gold. The war with Eritrea in 1999-2000 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. 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. Despite this limitation strong growth is expected to continue in the near term as good rainfall the cessation of hostilities and renewed foreign aid and debt relief push the economy forward.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 7.3% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $700 (2001 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 52%
Industry: 11%
Services: 37% (2000 est.)

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

Industries: food processing beverages textiles chemicals metals processing cement

Industrial production growth rate: 6.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force: NA
By occupation agriculture and animal husbandry: 80%
By occupation government and services: 12%
By occupation industry and construction: 8% (1985) (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 64% (1996)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3%
Highest 10: 34% (1995) (1995)

Distribution of family income gini index: 40 (1995)

Budget
Revenues: $1.8 billion
Expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $600 million (2002 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.8% (2001 est.)

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: $442 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Commodities: coffee qat gold leather products oilseeds
Partners: Germany 18% Japan 11% Djibouti 11% Saudi Arabia 8% (2000 est.)

Imports: $1.54 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Commodities: food and live animals petroleum and petroleum products chemicals machinery motor vehicles cereals textiles
Partners: Saudi Arabia 25% US 9% Italy 7% Russia 4% (2000 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $5.3 billion (2001 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank


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Electricity
Production: 1.63 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 2%
Production by source hydro: 98%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 1.516 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 231,900 (2000)
Mobile cellular: 17,800 (2000)

Telephone system
General assessment: open wire and microwave radio relay system; adequate for government use
Domestic: open wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; two domestic satellites provide the national trunk service
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
Country code: .et
Service providers isps: 1 (2002)
Users: 20,000 (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $800 million (FY00)
Percent of gdp: 12.6% (FY00)

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: 86 (2001)
With paved runways total: 14
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 69
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 32
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 21 (2002)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
Narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
Note: in 1998, Djibouti and Ethiopia announced plans to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals and since then Ethiopia has expended considerable effort to repair and maintain the lines; in 2001, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed to build a line from Ethiopia to Port Sudan (2000 est.)

Roadways

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 81,933 GRT/101,287 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 5, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: most of the southern half of the boundary with Somalia in the Ogaden region is a provisional administrative line; in the Ogaden regional states have established a variety of conflicting relationships with the Somali Transitional National Government in Mogadishu feuding factions in Puntland region and the economically stabile break-away 'Somaliland' region; Ethiopia agreeed in 2002 to demarcate its entire boundary with Sudan; Eritrea and Ethiopia have expressed general approval of the April 2002 arbitration commission ruling re-delimiting the boundary the focus of their 1998-2000 war; United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will monitor activities within the 25-km wide temporary security zone in Eritrea until demarcation and de-mining are complete

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 (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