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.

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

8 00 N, 38 00 E

total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km

total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m

small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65%
other: 89.34% (2005)

2,900 sq km (2003)

geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts

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

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

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.)

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.)

total: 17.8 years
male: 17.7 years
female: 17.9 years (2006 est.)

2.31% (2006 est.)

37.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

14.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
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.)

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.)

total: 93.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 103.43 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 83.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 49.03 years
male: 47.86 years
female: 50.24 years (2006 est.)

5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)

4.4% (2003 est.)

1.5 million (2003 est.)

120,000 (2003 est.)

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)

noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian

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

Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%

Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

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

federal republic

Addis Ababa

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)

oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

ratified December 1994, effective 22 August 1995

currently transitional mix of national and regional courts

18 years of age; universal

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)
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

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)

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.

$60.34 billion (2005 est.)

$8.854 billion (2005 est.)

7% (2005 est.)

$800 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 40.1%
industry: 12.7%
services: 47.2% (2005 est.)

agriculture: 80%
industry: 8%
services: 12% (1985)

50% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)

30 (2000)

6% (2005 est.)

20.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish

food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement

6.7% (2001 est.)

2.058 billion kWh (2003)

1.914 billion kWh (2003)

27,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

214,000 bbl (1 January 2002)

24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

-$1.023 billion (2005 est.)

$612 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

Djibouti 13.3%, Germany 10%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, US 5.2%, UAE 5%, Italy 4.6% (2004)

$2.722 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles

Saudi Arabia 25.3%, US 15.8%, China 6.6% (2004)

$1.192 billion (2005 est.)

$2.9 billion (2001 est.)

$308 million (FY00/01)

birr (ETB)

8 July - 7 July

435,000 (2003)

178,000 (2004)

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)

AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)

1 plus 24 repeaters (2002)

.et

87 (2005)

113,000 (2005)

82 (2005)

total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

total: 68
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 22 (2005)

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 (2004)

total: 33,856 km
paved: 4,367 km
unpaved: 29,489 km (2003)

total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 79,441 GRT/97,669 DWT
by type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2005)

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

Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession

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 (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)

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