2009 Edition

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. 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.

Area

total: 1,104,300 sq km country comparison to the world: 27 land: 1 million sq km water: 104,300 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Climate

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 5.56 cu km/yr (6%/0%/94%) per capita: 72 cu m/yr (2002)

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 38 00 E

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

Irrigated land

2,900 sq km (2003)

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

Land use

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

Location

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

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

Terrain

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

Total renewable water resources

110 cu km (1987)

Age structure

0-14 years: 46.1% (male 19,596,784/female 19,688,887) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 21,376,495/female 22,304,812) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 975,923/female 1,294,437) (2009 est.)

Birth rate

43.66 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 9

Death rate

11.55 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 42

Education expenditures

6% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 43

Ethnic groups

Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

2.1% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 31

HIV/AIDS - deaths

67,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

980,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

Infant mortality rate

total: 80.8 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 20 male: 92.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Languages

Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 55.41 years country comparison to the world: 192 male: 52.92 years female: 57.97 years (2009 est.)

Literacy

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

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2009)

Median age

total: 16.9 years male: 16.6 years female: 17.2 years (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian

Net migration rate

-0.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population country comparison to the world: 86 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 (2009 est.)

Population

85,237,338 country comparison to the world: 14 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)

Population growth rate

3.208% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 9

Religions

Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 7 years (2007)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.12 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

Urbanization

urban population: 17% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 4.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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)

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)

Constitution

ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Donald Y. YAMAMOTO embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] 11-517-40-00

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200

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 election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 79%

FAX

[1] (202) 587-0195 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York

[251] 11-517-40-01

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

Government type

federal republic

Independence

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

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

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)

Legal system

based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 are 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 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: some seats still remain vacant as detained opposition MPs did not take their seats

National holiday

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

Political parties and leaders

Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Mohammed Kedir]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP; Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Omoro People's Congress or OPC [IMERERA Gudina]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $4.517 billion expenditures: $5.34 billion (2008 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

8% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 121 7% (31 December 2006)

Current account balance

-$1.806 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 135 -$827.9 million (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$3.155 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 123 $2.621 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

30 (2000) country comparison to the world: 114 40 (1995)

Economy - overview

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 forgave Ethiopia's debt. 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 2004-08.

Electricity - consumption

3.13 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 126

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

3.46 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 122

Exchange rates

birr (ETB) per US dollar - 9.57 (2008 est.), 8.96 (2007), 8.69 (2006), 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004) note: since 24 October 2001, exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank

Exports

$1.555 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 139 $1.285 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Germany 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 8.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, US 8.1%, Switzerland 7.7%, Italy 6.1%, China 6%, Sudan 5.5%, Japan 4.4% (2008)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 44.9% industry: 12.8% services: 42.3% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$900 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 214 $800 (2007 est.) $700 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

11.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 11.1% (2007 est.) 10.9% (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$26.39 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$70.23 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 79 $62.93 billion (2007 est.) $56.64 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)

Imports

$7.206 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 101 $5.156 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

China 16.3%, Saudi Arabia 12%, India 8.7%, Italy 6%, Japan 4.9%, US 4.5% (2008)

Industrial production growth rate

10.4% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

44.4% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 221 17.2% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

25.2% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 51

Labor force

37.9 million (2007) country comparison to the world: 15

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 80.2% industry: 6.6% services: 13.2% (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 187

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 60

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 83

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 184

Natural gas - proved reserves

24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 74

Oil - consumption

37,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 106

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 188

Oil - imports

33,590 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 98

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 177

Oil - proved reserves

430,000 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 98

Population below poverty line

38.7% (FY05/06 est.)

Public debt

32% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 70 44.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$870.5 million (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 131 $1.29 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$NA (31 December 2008) $6.694 billion (31 December 2006)

Stock of money

$NA (31 December 2008) $3.651 billion (31 December 2006)

Stock of quasi money

$NA (31 December 2008) $3.258 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Internet country code

.et

Internet hosts

136 (2009) country comparison to the world: 195

Internet users

360,000 (2008) country comparison to the world: 116

Radio broadcast stations

AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)

Telephone system

general assessment: inadequate telephone system; the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is increasing from a very small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is only about 5 per 100 persons domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 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) (2008)

Telephones - main lines in use

908,900 (2008) country comparison to the world: 84

Telephones - mobile cellular

3.168 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 107

Television broadcast stations

1 (plus 24 repeaters) (2001)

Airports

63 (2009) country comparison to the world: 78

Airports - with paved runways

total: 17 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 46 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 9 (2009)

Merchant marine

total: 9 country comparison to the world: 115 by type: cargo 8, roll on/roll off 1 (2008)

Ports and terminals

Ethiopia is landlocked and uses ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia

Railways

total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) country comparison to the world: 106 narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2008)

Roadways

total: 36,469 km country comparison to the world: 93 paved: 6,980 km unpaved: 29,489 km (2004)

Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF)

Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) (2008) note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 17,666,967 females age 16-49: 17,530,211 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 11,078,847 females age 16-49: 12,017,073 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 908,384 female: 916,354 (2009 est.)

Military expenditures

3% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 49

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; theoretically, no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct call-ups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2008)

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; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; 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

IDPs

200,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000, ethnic clashes in Gambela, and ongoing Ethiopian military counterinsurgency in Somali region; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela Provinces) (2007)

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 utility as a money laundering center page last updated on November 11, 2009

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 66,980 (Sudan); 16,576 (Somalia); 13,078 (Eritrea)