Background: Unique among African countries the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 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 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 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007 the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission(EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea.

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N 38 00 E

Area
Rank: 27
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

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

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

Irrigated land: 2,900 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 110 km³ (1987)

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

Population: 91,195,675 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 14
Growth rate: 2.9% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 12
Below poverty line: 29.2% (FY09/10 est.)

Ethnic groups: Oromo 34.5% Amara 26.9% Somalie 6.2% Tigraway 6.1% Sidama 4% Gurage 2.5% Welaita 2.3% Hadiya 1.7% Affar 1.7% Gamo 1.5% Gedeo 1.3% other 11.3% (2007 Census)

Languages: Oromigna (official regional) 33.8% Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 29.3% Somaligna 6.2% Tigrigna (official regional) 5.9% Sidamigna 4% Wolayitigna 2.2% Guaragigna 2% Affarigna 1.7% Hadiyigna 1.7% Gamogna 1.5% other 11.7% English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools) Arabic (official) (1994 census)

Religions: Orthodox 43.5% Muslim 33.9% Protestant 18.6% traditional 2.6% Catholic 0.7% other 0.7% (2007 Census)

Population growth rate: 2.9% (2012 est.)
Rank: 12

Birth rate: 38.5 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 15

Death rate: 9.3 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 61

Net migration rate: -0.01 migrant(s)/1000 population
Rank: 114

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 26

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 196

Total fertility rate: 5.39 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 13

Physicians density: 0.022 physicians/1000 population (2007)

Hospital bed density: 0.18 beds/1000 population (2008)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 34.6% (2005)
Rank: 10

Education expenditures: 5.5% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 42

Government type: federal republic

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 2000 years (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom which coalesced in the first century B.C.)

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

Constitution: ratified 8 December 1994 effective 22 August 1995

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing legislation) (547 seats; members directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)

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 [Mohammed KEDIR]; All Ethiopian Unity Organization or AEUO [Hailu SHAWEL]; Arena Tigray [GEBRU Asrat]; Argoba People's Democratic Organization or APDO [Abdulkader MOHAMMED]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party or BGPDP [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP [AYELE Chamiso]; Ethiopian Democratic Party or EDP [MUSHE Semu]; Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum or FORUM (a UDJ-led 6-party alliance established for the 2010 parliamentary elections) [Dr. Moga FRISSA]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF (including the following organizations: Amhara National Democratic Movement or AMDM; Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO; Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement or SEPDM; and Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF); Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM; Gurage Peoples Democratic Front [GIRMA Bogale]; Harari National League or HNL [YASIN Husein]; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM; Oromo People's Congress or OPC [IMERERA Gudina]; Somali Democratic Alliance Forces or SODAF [BUH Hussien]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP [Abdulfetah Sheck ABDULAHI]; South Ethiopian People's Democratic Union or SEPDU [TILAHUN Endeshaw]; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; Unity for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Dr. NEGASSO Gidada]

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 IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OPCW PCA UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNISFA UNMIL UNOCI UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

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; green represents hope and the fertility of the land yellow symbolizes justice and harmony while red stands for sacrifice and heroism in the defense of the land; the blue of the disk symbolizes peace and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia

National symbols: Abyssinian lion

Economy overview: Ethiopia's economy is based on agriculture which accounts for 46% of GDP and 85% of total employment. Coffee has been a major export crop. The agricultural sector suffers from poor cultivation practices and frequent drought but recent joint efforts by the Government of Ethiopia and donors have strengthened Ethiopia's agricultural resilience contributing to a reduction in the number of Ethiopians threatened with starvation. The banking insurance and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors but Ethiopia has attracted significant foreign investment in textiles leather commercial agriculture and manufacturing. Under Ethiopia's constitution the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; land use certificates are now being issued in some areas so that tenants have more recognizable rights to continued occupancy and hence make more concerted efforts to improve their leaseholds. While GDP growth has remained high per capita income is among the lowest in the world. Ethiopia's economy continues on its state-led Growth and Transformation Plan under its new leadership after Prime Minister Meles's death. The five-year economic plan has achieved high single-digit growth rates through government-led infrastructure expansion and commercial agriculture development. Ethiopia in 2013 plans to continue construction of its Grand Renassiance Dam on the Nile-the controversial multi-billion dollar effort to develop electricity for domestic consumption and export.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 73

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 27

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 211

Agriculture products: cereals pulses coffee oilseed cotton sugarcane potatoes khat cut flowers; hides cattle sheep goats; fish

Industrial production growth rate: 9.5% (2010 est.)
Rank: 15

Labor force: 37.9 million (2007)
Rank: 17

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: 29.2% (FY09/10 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 40 (1995)
Rank: 117

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 93

Taxes and other revenues: 14.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 192

Public debt: 44.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 76

Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July

Inflation rate consumer prices: 33% (2011 est.)
Rank: 218

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 16% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 35

Stock of narrow money: $6.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 84

Stock of broad money: $11.51 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 94

Stock of domestic credit: $11.99 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 90

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: -$1.965 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 149

Exports: $2.957 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 129
Commodities: coffee khat gold leather products live animals oilseeds
Partners: Germany 14.2% China 12.2% Belgium 7.8% Saudi Arabia 6.8% US 6.3% Italy 5.1% (2011)

Imports: $9.694 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 93
Commodities: food and live animals petroleum and petroleum products chemicals machinery motor vehicles cereals textiles
Partners: Saudi Arabia 10% China 9.9% US 7.6% India 4.6% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.671 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 108

Debt external: $8.292 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 94

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 4.039 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 124
Consumption: 3.648 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 125
Exports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 192
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 184
Installed generating capacity: 1.18 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 120
Generation sources fossil fuels: 17.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 192
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 87
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 82.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 14
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 73

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 132
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 110
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 182
Crude oil proven reserves: 430,000 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 101

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 145
Products consumption: 49,080 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 101
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 176
Products imports: 42,480 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 74

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 127
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 142
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 194
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 193
Proven reserves: 113 billion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 53

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 6.74 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 113

Telephones
Main lines in use: 829,000 (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 86
Mobile cellular: 14.127 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 56

Broadcast media: 1 public TV station broadcasting nationally and 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each of the 13 administrative districts; a few commercial radio stations and roughly a dozen community radio stations (2009)

Internet
Country code: .et
Hosts: 179 (2012)
Hosts rank: 204
Users: 447,300 (2009)
Users rank: 119

Military expenditures: 1.2% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 118

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service but the military can conduct callups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2011)

Airports: 58 (2012)
Rank: 82

Railways
Rank: 102

Roadways
Rank: 93

Merchant marine
Rank: 121

Ports and terminals: Ethiopia is landlocked and uses ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia

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; 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

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 u