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 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. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.


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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: 5,328 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: 10.01%
Permanent crops: 0.65%
Other: 89.34% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2,900 km² (2003)

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 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


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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 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 2.31% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 50% (2004 est.)

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: 43.7% (male 16,373,718/female 16,280,766)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 19,999,482/female 20,077,014)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 929,349/female 1,117,652) (2006 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 17.8 years
Male: 17.7 years
Female: 17.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.31% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 37.98 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 14.86 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate
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 (2006 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female (2006 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 93.62 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 103.43 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 83.51 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 49.03 years
Male: 47.86 years
Female: 50.24 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 4.4% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1.5 million (2003 est.)
Deaths: 120,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and hepatitis E
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis are high risks in some locations
Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
Animal contact disease: rabies
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)

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: 42.7%
Male: 50.3%
Female: 35.1% (2003 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: 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)

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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held 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 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 Democracy or CUD [HAILU Shawel]; 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 Ethiopean 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 Ethopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small parties

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU COMESA FAO G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) IPU ISO ITU MIGA NAM ONUB OPCW PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIL UNOCI UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
In the us chancery: 3,506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
In the us fax: [1] (202) 587-0195
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles
In the us consulates: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Vicki HUDDLESTON
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) 517-4,000
From the us fax: [251] (1) 517-4,888

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 accounting for 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 $156 million in 2002 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 International Monetary Fund 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 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns late in 2003 helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-05.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $64.73 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 8.9% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $900 (2005 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 47.5%
Industry: 9.9%
Services: 42.6% (2005 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: 6.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 27.27 million
By occupation agriculture: 80%
By occupation industry: 8%
By occupation services: 12% (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 50% (2004 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3%
Highest 10: 33.7% (1995)

Distribution of family income gini index: 30 (2000)

Budget
Revenues: $2.338 billion
Expenditures: $2.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $788 million (2005 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 106.2% of GDP

Revenue

Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.6% (2005 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: $-844 million (2005 est.)

Exports: $612 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: coffee qat gold leather products live animals oilseeds
Partners: Saudi Arabia 6.9% Djibouti 6.8% Switzerland 6.4% Italy 5.9% US 5.5% Netherlands 4.2% (2005)

Imports: $2.722 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: food and live animals petroleum and petroleum products chemicals machinery motor vehicles cereals textiles
Partners: Saudi Arabia 14.7% China 12.6% US 12.4% **COUNTRY** 9.6% India 6.7% Italy 4.6% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.226 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $5.101 billion (2005 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: 2.058 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 1.914 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Proven reserves: 24.92 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 610,300 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 410,600 (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: 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: 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)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .et
Hosts: 88 (2006)
Users: 113,000 (2005)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 3.4% (2005 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 84 (2006)
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 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 70
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 13
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 23 (2006)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
Narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
Note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2005)

Roadways
Total: 33,856 km
Paved: 4,367 km
Unpaved: 29,489 km (2003)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 79,441 GRT/97,669 DWT
By type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2006)

Ports and terminals: Ethiopia is landlocked and has used ports of Assab and Massawa in Eritrea and port of Djibouti


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Disputes international: Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision but mutual animosities accusations and armed posturing prevail preventing demarcation despite international intervention; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored 'human geography' are addressed including the award of Badme the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; Ethiopia has only an administrative line and no international border with the Oromo region of southern Somalia where it maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to the unrecognized Somali Interim Government in Mogadishu; 'Somaliland' secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been delayed by civil war

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 90,451 (Sudan) 16,470 (Somalia) 8,719 (Eritrea)
Idps: 132,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000 and ethnic clashes in Gambela; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela Provinces) (2005)

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