Ethiopia

§1. Ethiopia Introduction

Background:
  Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained
  its freedom from colonial rule, one exception being the Italian occupation
  of 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 by a coalition of rebel forces,
  the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. A
  constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections
  were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with Eritrea that ended
  with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000 has strengthened the ruling
  coalition, but has hurt the nation's economy.

§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 kmē
  land: 1,119,683 kmē
  water: 7,444 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,311 km border countries: Djibouti 337 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya
    830 km, Somalia 1,626 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: 12%
  permanent crops: 1%
  permanent pastures: 40%
  forests and woodland: 25%
  other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  1,900 kmē (1993 est.)

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

Environment - current issues:
  deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

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,
    Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note:
  landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure
  independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993

§3. Ethiopia People

Population:
  65,891,874
  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 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 47.18% (male 15,647,675; female 15,442,348)
  15-64 years: 50.03% (male 16,584,765; female 16,378,060)
  65 years and over: 2.79% (male 834,825; female 1,004,201) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.7% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  44.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  17.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) note: repatriation of
    Ethiopians who fled to Sudan for refuge from war and famine in earlier
    years is expected to continue for several years; small numbers of
    Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or
    famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  99.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 44.68 years male: 43.88 years
  female: 45.51 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  7 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  10.63% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  3 million (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  280,000 (1999 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: 35.5%
  male: 45.5%
  female: 25.3% (1995 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, Binshangul Gumuz; Dire Dawa*; Gambela Hizboch;
    Hareri Hizb; Oromiya; Sumale; Tigray; YeDebub Biheroch Bihereseboch na
    Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region)

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 NEGASSO Gidada (since 22 August 1995)
  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 NA June 1995 (next to be held NA May
    2001); prime minister designated by the party in power following
    legislative elections
  election results: NEGASSO Gidada elected president; percent of vote by the
    House of People's Representatives - NA%

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 (548
  seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member
  districts to serve five-year terms)
  elections: last held 14 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2005)
  election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - OPDO 177, ANDM 134, TPLF
    38, WGGPDO 27, EPRDF 19, SPDO 18, GNDM 15, KSPDO 10, ANDP 8, GPRDF 7,
    SOPDM 7, BGPDUF 6, BMPDO 5, KAT 4, other regional political groupings 22,
    independents 8; note - 43 seats unconfirmed
  note: irregularities and violence at a number of polling stations
    necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting
    postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought

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]; All-Amhara People's
  Organization or AAPO [KEGNAZ MATCH Neguea Tibeb]; Amhara National
  Democratic Movement or ANDM [TEFERA Walwa]; Bench Madji People's Democratic
  Organization or BMPDO [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic
  Unity Front or BGPDUF [leader NA]; Coalition of Alternative Forces for
  Peace and Democracy or CAFPD [Kifle TIGNEH Abate and BEYENE Petros];
  Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party or EDUP [Lt. Gen. TESFAYE Gebre Kidan];
  Ethiopian National Democratic Party or ENDP [FEKADU Gedamu]; Ethiopian
  People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an
  alliance of the ANDM, OPDO, and TPLF); Gedeyo People's Revolutionary
  Democratic Movement or GPRDF [leader NA]; Gurange Nationalities Democratic
  Movement or GNDM [leader NA]; Kafa Shaka People's Democratic Organization
  or KSPDO [leader NA]; Kembata, Alabaa, and Tembaro or KAT [leader NA];
  Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa Gudina]; Oromo People's
  Democratic Organization or OPDO [KUMA Demeksa]; Sidama People's Democratic
  Organization or SPDO [leader NA]; South Omo People's Democratic Movement or
  SOPDM [leader NA]; Tigrai People's Liberation Front or TPLF [MELES Zenawi];
  Walayta, Gamo, Gofa, Dawro, Konta People's Democratic Organization or
  WGGPDO [leader NA]; dozens of small parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition; numerous small, ethnically
  based groups have formed since the defeat of the former MENGISTU regime in
  1991, including several Islamic militant groups

International organization participation:
  ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
  ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 3506 International Drive
    NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
  FAX: [1] (202) 686-9857

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Tibor P. NAGY, Jr. embassy: Entoto Street,
    Addis Ababa
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
  telephone: [251] (1) 550666
  FAX: [251] (1) 551328

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 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 economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP,
  90% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector
  suffers from frequent periods of drought and poor cultivation practices,
  and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually. Coffee is
  critical to the Ethiopian economy, and Ethiopia earned $267 million in 1999
  by exporting 105,000 metric tons. According to current estimates, coffee
  contributes 10% of Ethiopia's GDP. More than 15 million people (25% of the
  population) derive their livelihood from the coffee sector. Other exports
  include live animals, hides, gold, and qat. In December 1999, Ethiopia
  signed a $1.4 billion joint venture deal to develop a huge natural gas
  field in the Somali Regional State. The war with Eritrea forced the
  government to spend scarce resources on the military and to scale back
  ambitious development plans. Foreign investment has declined significantly.
  Government taxes imposed in late 1999 to raise money for the war depressed
  an already weak economy. The war forced the government to improve roads and
  other parts of the previously neglected infrastructure, but only certain
  regions of the nation benefited. Recovery from the war is mostly contingent
  on natural factors. A drought has continued into the end of 2000 and food
  relief is expected to be needed through mid-2001 at least. Ethiopia may
  receive Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief by the end of the
  year.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $39.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 45% industry: 12%
  services: 43% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  5% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  NA

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

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $1 billion
  expenditures: $1.48 billion, including capital expenditures of $415 million
    (FY96/97)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  1.625 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 3.08% hydro: 96.92%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.511 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (1999)

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

Exports:
  $460 million (f.o.b., 1999)

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

Exports - partners:
  Germany 16%, Japan 13%, Djibouti 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (1999 est.)

Imports:
  $1.25 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

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

Imports - partners:
  Saudi Arabia 28%, Italy 10%, Russia 7%, US 6% (1999 est.)

Debt - external:
  $10 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $367 million (FY95/96)

Currency:
  birr (ETB)

Currency code:
  ETB

Exchange rates:
  birr per US dollar (end of period) - 8.3140 (December 2000), 8.3140 (2000),
  8.1340 (1999), 7.5030 (1998), 6.8640 (1997), 6.4260 (1996)
  note: since May 1993, the birr market rate has been determined in an
    interbank market supported by weekly wholesale auction

Fiscal year:
  8 July - 7 July

§6. Ethiopia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  157,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  4,000 (1999)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: open wire and microwave radio relay system 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: 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 5, FM 0, shortwave 2 (1999)

Radios:
  11.75 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  25 (1999)

Televisions:
  320,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
  .et

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  1 (2000)

Internet users:
  7,200 (1999)

§7. Ethiopia Transportation

Railways:
  total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
  narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
  note: in April 1998, Djibouti and Ethiopia announced plans to revitalize
    the century-old railroad that links their capitals; since May 1998
    Ethiopia has expended considerable effort to repair and maintain the
    lines

Highways:
  total: 24,145 km
  paved: 3,290 km
  unpaved: 20,855 km (1998)

Waterways:
  none

Ports and harbors:
  none; Ethiopia is landlocked and was by agreement with Eritrea using the
  ports of Assab and Massawa; since the border dispute with Eritrea flared,
  Ethiopia has used the port of Djibouti for nearly all of its imports

Merchant marine:
  total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 85,382 GRT/108,526 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 6, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3
    (2000 est.)

Airports:
  86 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 12 over 3,047 m: 3
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
  914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 74 over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
  914 to 1,523 m: 35
  under 914 m: 20 (2000 est.)

§8. Ethiopia Military

Military branches:
  Ground Forces, Air Force, Police, Militia note: Ethiopia is landlocked and
    has no navy; following the independence of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval
    facilities remained in Eritrean possession and ships which belonged to
    the former Ethiopian Navy and based at Djibouti have been sold

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 14,537,884 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 7,581,815 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 703,625 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $138 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.5% (FY98/99)

§9. Ethiopia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  most of the southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional
  Administrative Line; as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement
  ending a two year war with Eritrea, the UN will administer a 25-km wide
  temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission
  delimits and demarcates a final boundary; dispute over alignment of
  boundary with Eritrea led to armed conflict in 1998; a peace accord signed
  in December 2000 provides for UN-assisted arbitration and demarcation of
  the border

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
