Location: |
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Geographic coordinates: |
8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Area: |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative: |
slighotely 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: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0.75%
other: 88.54% (2001) |
Irrigated land: |
1,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 |
Population: |
73,053,286
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 2005 est.) |
Median age: |
total: 17.75 years
male: 17.64 years
female: 17.85 years (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate: |
2.36% (2005 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 (2005 est.) |
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 95.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 85.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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.) |
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% |
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 |
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$59.93 billion (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate: |
6.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $800 (2005 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 40.1%
industry: 12.7%
services: 47.2% (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%, government and services 12% (1985) |
Agriculture - products: |
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes, qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats |
Industries: |
food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Currency (code): |
birr (ETB) |
Exchange rates: |
birr per US dollar - 8.72 (2005), 8.68 (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 |
Airports: |
83 (2004 est.) |
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 est.) |
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 est.) |
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) |
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