Ethiopia

§1. 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.

§2. Ethiopia Geography

Location:
  Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Geographic coordinates:
  8 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 1,127,127 km²
  land: 1,119,683 km²
  water: 7,444 km²

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

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

Irrigated land:
  1,900 km² (1998 est.)

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

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

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

§3. Ethiopia 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 growth rate:
  2.31% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
  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.)

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 mortality rate:
  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.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 49.03 years
  male: 47.86 years
  female: 50.24 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  4.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  1.5 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  120,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
  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)

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.)

§4. Ethiopia 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 type:
  federal republic

Capital:
  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 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; 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 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)
  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 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 [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz
  People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [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 [leader NA]; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM
  [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP [leader NA];
  United Ethopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small
  parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF [leader NA]; Oromo
  Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]; Oromo National Liberation Front or
  ONLF [leader NA]

International organization participation:
  ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU,
  ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNMIL, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador KASSAHUN Ayele
  chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
  FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
  consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Vicki HUDDLESTON
  embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
  telephone: [251] (1) 517-4000
  FAX: [251] (1) 517-4888

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

§5. Ethiopia Economy

Economy - overview:
  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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $60.34 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $8.854 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 40.1%
  industry: 12.7%
  services: 47.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  NA

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%,
  government and services 12% (1985)

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Population below poverty line:
  50% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3%
  highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  30 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  6% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  20.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  6.7% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:
  2.058 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.914 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  27,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  214,000 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  24.92 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
  $-1.023 billion (2005 est.)

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

Exports - commodities:
  coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

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

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

Imports - commodities:
  food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals,
  machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles

Imports - partners:
  Saudi Arabia 25.3%, US 15.8%, China 6.6% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $1.192 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $2.9 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $308 million (FY00/01)

Currency (code):
  birr (ETB)

Exchange rates:
  birr per US dollar - 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (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

§6. Ethiopia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  435,000 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  178,000 (2004)

Telephone system:
  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)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 plus 24 repeaters (2002)

Internet country code:
  .et

Internet hosts:
  87 (2005)

Internet users:
  113,000 (2005)

§7. Ethiopia Transportation

Airports:
  82 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  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)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  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)

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 (2004)

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

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

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

§8. Ethiopia Military

Military branches:
  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

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 14,568,277 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 8,072,755 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 803,777 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $295.9 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  3.4% (2005 est.)

§9. Ethiopia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  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 and internally displaced persons:
  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)

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


<Factbook 2006>
