from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Ethiopia
Introduction
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.
Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Geographic 8 00 N, 38 00 E
coordinates:
Map Africa
references:
Area: total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km
Area - slightly less than twice the size of Texas
comparative:
Land total: 5,328 km
boundaries: border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km,
Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced
variation
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by
Great Rift Valley
Elevation lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
extremes: highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m
Natural small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash,
resources: natural gas, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65%
other: 89.34% (2005)
Irrigated 2,900 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to
hazards: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts
Environment - deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
current desertification; water shortages in some areas from
issues: water-intensive farming and poor management
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change,
international Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
agreements: Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification,
Law of the Sea
Geography - landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was
note: 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
People
Population: 74,777,981
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.)
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.)
Median age: total: 17.8 years
male: 17.7 years
female: 17.9 years (2006 est.)
Population 2.31% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 37.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 14.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
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.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 93.62 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 103.43 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 83.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 49.03 years
expectancy at male: 47.86 years
birth: female: 50.24 years (2006 est.)
Total 5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 4.4% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 1.5 million (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 120,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Major degree of risk: very high
infectious food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal
diseases: 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)
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% (2003 est.)
Government
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 federal republic
type:
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 9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil)
divisions: 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 National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
holiday:
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 chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8
branch: 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 bicameral Parliament consists of the House of
branch: 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)
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 Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president
branch: 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 Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul
parties and Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF
leaders: [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
Political Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF;
pressure Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]; Oromo
groups and National Liberation Front or ONLF
leaders:
International ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
organization ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO,
participation: 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 chief of mission: Ambassador Ayele KASSAHUN
representation chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
FAX: [1] (202) 686-9551
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge
representation d'Affaires Vicki HUDDLESTON
from the US: embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: [251] (1) 517-4000
FAX: [251] (1) 517-4888
Flag three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow,
description: 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
Economy
Economy - Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on
overview: 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.
GDP $64.73 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $8.819 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 8.9% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $900 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 47.5%
composition by industry: 9.9%
sector: services: 42.6% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 27.27 million
Labor force - agriculture: 80%
by occupation: industry: 8%
services: 12% (1985)
Unemployment NA%
rate:
Population 50% (2004 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 3%
income or highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 30 (2000)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 11.6% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 21.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $2.338 billion
expenditures: $2.88 billion; including capital
expenditures of $788 million (2005 est.)
Public debt: 106.2% of GDP
Agriculture - cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane,
products: potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep,
goats; fish
Industries: food processing, beverages, textiles, leather,
chemicals, metals processing, cement
Industrial 6.7% (2001 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 2.058 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 1.3%
production by hydro: 97.6%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 1.2% (2001)
Electricity - 1.914 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 27,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 214,000 bbl (1 January 2002)
reserves:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
proved
reserves:
Current $-844 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $612 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals,
commodities: oilseeds
Exports - Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Djibouti 6.8%, Switzerland 6.4%,
partners: Italy 5.9%, US 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2005)
Imports: $2.722 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum
commodities: products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles,
cereals, textiles
Imports - Saudi Arabia 14.7%, China 12.6%, US 12.4%, **COUNTRY**
partners: 9.6%, India 6.7%, Italy 4.6% (2005)
Reserves of $1.226 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $5.101 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $308 million (FY00/01)
recipient:
Currency birr (ETB)
(code):
Currency code: ETB
Exchange birr per US dollar - 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997
rates: (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are
determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions
regulated by the Central Bank
Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July
Communications
Telephones - 610,300 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 410,600 (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: adequate for government use
system: 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)
Radio AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 15.2 million (2002)
Television 1 plus 24 repeaters (2002)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 682,000 (2002)
Internet .et
country code:
Internet 88 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 1 (2002)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 113,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 84 (2006)
Airports - total: 14
with paved over 3,047 m: 3
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - total: 70
with unpaved over 3,047 m: 3
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 28
under 914 m: 23 (2006)
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)
Merchant total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 79,441 GRT/97,669 DWT
marine: by type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2006)
Ports and Ethiopia is landlocked and has used ports of Assab and
terminals: Massawa in Eritrea and port of Djibouti
Military
Military Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces,
branches: Ethiopian Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following
the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities
remained in Eritrean possession
Military 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military
service age service (2001)
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 14,568,277
available for females age 18-49: 14,482,885 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 8,072,755
for military females age 18-49: 7,902,660 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 803,777
reaching females age 18-49: 801,789 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $295.9 million (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 3.4% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002
international: 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 refugees (country of origin): 90,451 (Sudan) 16,470
internally (Somalia) 8,719 (Eritrea)
displaced IDPs: 132,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000
persons: 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