About
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 two and a half
year border war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 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 sensitive territory.
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Source: The World Factbook
Population: 73,053,286
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.)
Capital: Addis Ababa
Languages: Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in
schools)
Religions: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%
Government: federal republic
Climate: tropical
monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range
divided by Great Rift Valley
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
Ethnic groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%,
Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Economy: 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. 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 per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2005 est.)
GDP real growth: 6.5% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA (2002)
Internet country code: .et
Dial code: +251
Cities
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Local currency is the Ethiopian Birr
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