Page last updated on January 29, 2014
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Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades.
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
total: 1,104,300 sq km
country comparison to the world: 27
land: 1 million sq km
water: 104,300 sq km
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 m
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
arable land: 13.19%
permanent crops: 1.01%
other: 85.8% (2011)
total: 5.56 cu km/yr (13%/1%/86%)
per capita: 80.5 cu m/yr (2005)
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
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management
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
landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; Ethiopia is, therefore, the most populous landlocked country in the world; 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
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian
Oromo 34.5%, Amhara (Amara) 26.9%, Somali (Somalie) 6.2%, Tigray (Tigrigna) 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Afar (Affar) 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, other 11.3% (2007 Census)
Oromo (official regional) 33.8%, Amharic (official) 29.3%, Somali 6.2%, Tigrayan (official regional) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Guragiegna 2%, Afar 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, other 11.7%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (2007 census)
Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.6%, traditional 2.6%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.7% (2007 Census)
93,877,025 (July 2013 est.)
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
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.)
total dependency ratio: 85.5 %
youth dependency ratio: 79.2 %
elderly dependency ratio: 6.3 %
potential support ratio: 15.8 (2013)
total: 17.5 years
male: 17.3 years
female: 17.6 years (2013 est.)
2.9% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
38.07 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
-0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 120
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 (2013 est.)
urban population: 17% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: 3.57% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
ADDIS ABABA (capital) 2.863 million (2009)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
19.6
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011 est.)
350 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 32
total: 58.28 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 29
male: 66.58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
total population: 60 years
country comparison to the world: 193
male: 57.73 years
female: 62.35 years (2013 est.)
5.31 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
4.7% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 148
0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
6.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2013)
1.1% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 191
29.2% (2011)
country comparison to the world: 17
4.7% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 89
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 39%
male: 49.1%
female: 28.9% (2007 est.)
total: 9 years
male: 10 years
female: 8 years (2011)
total number: 10,693,164
percentage: 53 % (2005 est.)
total: 24.9%
country comparison to the world: 40
male: 19.5%
female: 29.4% (2006)
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
name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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)
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 Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
several previous; latest drafted June 1994, adopted 8 December 1994, entered into force 21 August 1995 (2013)
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President MULATU Teshome Wirtu (since 7 October 2013)
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
elections: president elected by both chambers of Parliament for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2019); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections
election results: MULATU Teshome Wirtu elected president by acclamation
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
highest court(s): Federal Supreme Court or Supreme Imperial Court (consists of 11 judges)
judge selection and term of office: president and vice president of Federal Supreme Court nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; judges serve until retirement at age 60
subordinate courts: federal high courts and federal courts of first instance; state court systems (mirror structure of federal system); sharia courts and customary and traditional courts
Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Mohammed KEDIR]
Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF
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)
chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Birru (since 6 January 2011)
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Marie HASLACH (since 14 August 2013)
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: 130-6000
FAX: 124-2401
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; green represents hope and the fertility of the land, yellow symbolizes justice and harmony, while red stands for sacrifice and heroism in the defense of the land; the blue of the disk symbolizes peace and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia
note: Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag (adopted ca. 1895) were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the Pan-African colors; the emblem in the center of the current flag was added in 1996
name: "Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia)
lyrics/music: DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu
note: adopted 1992
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 MELE'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 Renaissance Dam on the Nile-the controversial multi-billion dollar effort to develop electricity for domestic consumption and export.
$109 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
$41.94 billion (2012 est.)
8.5% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
$1,300 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 207
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
18.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
household consumption: 85.6%
government consumption: 8.2%
investment in fixed capital: 26.8%
investment in inventories: 0%
exports of goods and services: 12.7%
imports of goods and services: -33.3%
agriculture: 46.2%
industry: 10.6%
services: 43.2% (2012 est.)
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish
food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement
9.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
44.02 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
agriculture: 85%
industry: 5%
services: 10% (2009 est.)
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)
30 (2000)
country comparison to the world: 116
revenues: $6.388 billion
expenditures: $7.54 billion (2012 est.)
15.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 193
-2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
39.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
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
22.9% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
14.5% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
$9.107 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
$13.35 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
$16.09 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
$-2.031 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
$3.039 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
coffee, khat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds
China 13%, Germany 10.8%, US 8%, Belgium 7.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.6% (2012)
$10.25 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles
China 13.1%, US 11%, Saudi Arabia 8.4%, India 5.4% (2012)
$3.272 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
$10.03 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
birr (ETB) per US dollar -
4.929 billion kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
4.451 billion kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 193
0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
2.061 million kW (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
9.9% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 195
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
89.7% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
0.4% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
100 bbl/day (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
430,000 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 99
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
49,080 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
42,500 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190
24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 73
6.703 million Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
797,500 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 86
20.524 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 47
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)
1 public TV station broadcasting nationally and 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each of the 13 administrative districts; a few commercial radio stations and roughly a dozen community radio stations (2009)
179 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 203
447,300 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 119
57 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 84
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 (2013)
total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m:
total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
country comparison to the world: 102
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2008)
total: 44,359 km
country comparison to the world: 79
paved: 6,064 km
unpaved: 38,295 km (2007)
total: 8
country comparison to the world: 121
by type: cargo 8 (2010)
Ethiopia is landlocked and uses the ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (Ye Ityopya Ayer Hayl, ETAF) (2013)
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)
males age 16-49: 19,067,499
females age 16-49: 19,726,816 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 11,868,084
females age 16-49: 12,889,260 (2010 est.)
male: 967,411
female: 981,714 (2010 est.)
0.91% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 292
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; 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
refugees (country of origin): 244,613 (Somalia); 93,465 (South Sudan); 84,271 (Eritrea); 33,841 (Sudan) (2014)
IDPs: 200,000-300,000 (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) (2008)
