World Facts Index
 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 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. The
Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission in November 2007 remotely demarcated the
border by geographical coordinates, but final demarcation of the boundary on the
ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international
commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to
Ethiopia.
Geography of Ethiopia
|
Location:
|
Eastern Africa, west of
Somalia |
|
Coordinates:
|
8 00 N, 38 00 E |
|
Area:
|
total: 1,127,127 sq
km
water: 7,444 sq km
land: 1,119,683 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 of Ethiopia
|
Population:
|
82,544,840 (July 2008 est.) |
|
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) |
|
Median age:
|
17.8 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
2.31% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
93.62 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 49.03 years
male: 47.86 years
female: 50.24 years |
|
Fertility rate:
|
5.22 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%,
Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% |
|
Religions:
|
Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%,
animist 12%, other 3%-8% |
|
Languages:
|
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna,
Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Federal
Democratic Republic of 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:
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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) |
|
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 December 1994; effective 22 August
1995 |
|
Legal system:
|
currently transitional mix of national and
regional courts |
|
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 |
|
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) |
|
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). |
Economy
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 constitution, the state
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 during 2004-07.
|
GDP:
|
$56.05 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
8.9% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$900 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 47.5%
industry: 9.9%
services: 42.6% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
11.6% |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $2.338 billion
expenditures: $2.88 billion |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 1.3%
hydro: 97.6%
other: 1.2%
nuclear: 0% |
|
Industries:
|
food processing, beverages, textiles,
chemicals, metals processing, cement |
|
Agriculture:
|
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed,
sugarcane, potatoes, qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats |
|
Exports:
|
coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live
animals, oilseeds |
|
Export partners:
|
Japan 66.9%, Djibouti 4.3%, Germany 3.5% |
|
Imports:
|
food and live animals, petroleum and
petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
|
Import partners:
|
Saudi Arabia 26.2%, US 14.6%, China 8.1%, Italy 5.3% |
|
Currency:
|
birr (ETB) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |