Ethiopia Population: 93,877,025
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| 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. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission(EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. |
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| Geography | |
| 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 | |
| Location: | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
| Geographic coordinates: | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Area: | total: 1,104,300 sq km land: 1 million sq km water: 104,300 sq km Size comparison: 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, South Sudan 837 km, Sudan 769 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: Danakil Depression -125 m highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 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: | 2,900 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (elev. 613 m), which has caused frequent lava flows in recent years, is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, causing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir |
| Current Environment Issues: | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
| International Environment 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 |
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| People | |
| Population: | 93,877,025 (July 2013 est.) 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 |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 44.4% (male 20,858,061/female 20,813,460) 15-24 years: 19.9% (male 9,258,868/female 9,382,338) 25-54 years: 29.1% (male 13,576,787/female 13,704,595) 55-64 years: 3.9% (male 1,772,448/female 1,859,364) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,197,519/female 1,453,585) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 16.8 years male: 16.5 years female: 17.1 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.9% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 38.5 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 9.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.01 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 (2012 est.) |
| 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 (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 60.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 69.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 56.56 years male: 53.99 years female: 59.21 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 5.31 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA |
| Nationality: | noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian |
| Ethnic groups: | Oromo 34.5%, Amara 26.9%, Somalie 6.2%, Tigraway 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Affar 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, other 11.3% (2007 Census) |
| Religions: | Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.6%, traditional 2.6%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.7% (2007 Census) |
| Languages: | Oromigna (official regional) 33.8%, Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 29.3%, Somaligna 6.2%, Tigrigna (official regional) 5.9%, Sidamigna 4%, Wolayitigna 2.2%, Guaragigna 2%, Affarigna 1.7%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, Gamogna 1.5%, other 11.7%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (1994 census) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
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| 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: | 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 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 (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which coalesced in the first century B.C.) |
| National holiday: | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
| Constitution: | ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
| Legal system: | civil law system |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001) head of government: Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn (since 21 September 2012); note - prior to his approval as prime minister, HAILEMARIAM had been acting prime minister due to the death of former Prime Minister MELES cabinet: Council of Ministers ministers selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by both chambers of Parliament for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 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% |
| 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 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 directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 23 May 2010 (next to be held in 2015) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 499, SPDP 24, BGPDP 9, ANDP 8, GPUDM 3, HNL 1, FORUM 1, APDO 1, independent 1 |
| 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 [Mohammed KEDIR]; All Ethiopian Unity Organization or AEUO [Hailu SHAWEL]; Arena Tigray [GEBRU Asrat]; Argoba People's Democratic Organization or APDO [Abdulkader MOHAMMED]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party or BGPDP [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP [AYELE Chamiso]; Ethiopian Democratic Party or EDP [MUSHE Semu]; Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum or FORUM (a UDJ-led 6-party alliance established for the 2010 parliamentary elections) [Dr. Moga FRISSA]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF (including the following organizations: Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM; Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO; Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement or SEPDM; and Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF); Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM; Gurage Peoples Democratic Front [GIRMA Bogale]; Harari National League or HNL [YASIN Husein]; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM; Oromo People's Congress or OPC [IMERERA Gudina]; Somali Democratic Alliance Forces or SODAF [BUH Hussien]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP [Abdulfetah Sheck ABDULAHI]; South Ethiopian People's Democratic Union or SEPDU [TILAHUN Endeshaw]; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; Unity for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Dr. NEGASSO Gidada] |
| 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] |
| 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, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Birru 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 Donald E. BOOTH embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: 130-6000 FAX: 124-2401 |
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| Economy | |
| Ethiopia's economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for 46% of GDP and 85% of total employment. Coffee has been a major export crop. The agricultural sector suffers from poor cultivation practices and frequent drought, but recent joint efforts by the Government of Ethiopia and donors have strengthened Ethiopia's agricultural resilience, contributing to a reduction in the number of Ethiopians threatened with starvation. The banking, insurance, and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors, but Ethiopia has attracted significant foreign investment in textiles, leather, commercial agriculture and manufacturing. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; land use certificates are now being issued in some areas so that tenants have more recognizable rights to continued occupancy and hence make more concerted efforts to improve their leaseholds. While GDP growth has remained high, per capita income is among the lowest in the world. Ethiopia's economy continues on its state-led Growth and Transformation Plan under its new leadership after Prime Minister Meles's death. The five-year economic plan has achieved high single-digit growth rates through government-led infrastructure expansion and commercial agriculture development. Ethiopia in 2013 plans to continue construction of its Grand Renassiance Dam on the Nile-the controversial multi-billion dollar effort to develop electricity for domestic consumption and export. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $103.1 billion (2012 est.) $96.39 billion (2011 est.) $89.67 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $41.89 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 7% (2012 est.) 7.5% (2011 est.) 8% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,200 (2012 est.) $1,100 (2011 est.) $1,100 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 46.6% industry: 14.6% services: 38.8% (2012 est.) |
| Labor force: | 37.9 million (2007) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 85% industry: 5% services: 10% (2009 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | NA% |
| Population below poverty line: | 29.2% (FY09/10 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 25.6% (2005) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 30 (2000) 40 (1995) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.7% (2012 est.) 33% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 22.7% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $6.079 billion expenditures: $7.219 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 44.4% of GDP (2012 est.) 44.7% of GDP (2011 est.) note: official data cover central government debt, including debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury and treasury debt owned by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions |
| Agriculture - products: | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
| Industries: | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 9.5% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 4.039 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 124 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 3.648 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 113 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$2.95 billion (2012 est.) -$1.965 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $3.163 billion (2012 est.) $2.957 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | coffee, khat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 14.2%, China 12.2%, Belgium 7.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.8%, US 6.3%, Italy 5.1% (2011) |
| Imports: | $10.6 billion (2012 est.) $9.694 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
| Imports - partners: | Saudi Arabia 10%, China 9.9%, US 7.6%, India 4.6% (2011) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $3.024 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $2.671 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $9.956 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $8.292 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA |
| Exchange rates: | birr (ETB) per US dollar - 17.8 (2012 est.) 16.899 (2011 est.) 14.41 (2010 est.) 11.78 (2009) 9.57 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | 8 July - 7 July |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 829,000 (2011) country comparison to the world: 86 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 14.127 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: inadequate telephone system with the Ethio Telecom maintaining a monopoly over telecommunication services; open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service domestic: the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is increasing from a small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 15 per 100 persons 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) (2011) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .et |
| Internet hosts: | 179 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 447,300 (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 58 (2012) country comparison to the world: 82 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 17 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 41 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 7 (2012) |
| Railways: | total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) 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 paved: 6,980 km unpaved: 29,489 km (2004) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 8 by type: cargo 8 (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Ethiopia is landlocked and uses ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (Ye Ityopya Ayer Hayl, ETAF) (2013) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct callups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2012) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 19,067,499 females age 16-49: 19,726,816 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 11,868,084 females age 16-49: 12,889,260 (2010 est.) |
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