Ethiopia

.et

9 (2003)

75,000 (2003)

AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)

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: 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)

435,000 (2003)

97,800 (2003)

1 plus 24 repeaters (2002)

cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes, qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats

revenues: $1.813 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $788 million (2003 est.)

birr (ETB)

ETB

$-408 million (2003)

$2.9 billion (2001 est.)

40 (1995)

$308 million (FY00/01)

Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, which accounts 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. Return to normal weather patterns late in 2003 should help agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004. The government estimates that annual growth of 7% is needed to reduce poverty.

1.594 billion kWh (2001)

0 kWh (2001)

0 kWh (2001)

1.713 billion kWh (2001)

birr per US dollar - NA (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001), 8.2173 (2000), 7.9423 (1999) note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank

$537 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

Djibouti 13.4%, Germany 11.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Japan 6.8%, Italy 6.4%, US 5.1% (2003)

8 July - 7 July

purchasing power parity - $46.81 billion (2003 est.)

agriculture: 46% industry: 12.6% services: 41.4% (2003 est.)

purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)

-3.8% (2003 est.)

lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)

$1.964 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles

Saudi Arabia 24.1%, US 17%, China 6.4%, Italy 4.1% (2003)

6.7% (2001 est.)

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

17.8% (2003 est.)

17% of GDP (2003)

NA (2001 est.)

agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%, government and services 12% (1985)

12.46 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

23,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

NA (2001)

NA (2001)

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

214,000 bbl (1 January 2002)

50% (2003 est.)

$956 million (2003)

NA (2002)

total: 1,127,127 sq km land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

0 km (landlocked)

lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

8 00 N, 38 00 E

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

1,900 sq km (1998 est.)

total: 5,328 km border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km

arable land: 10.71% permanent crops: 0.75% other: 88.54% (2001)

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Africa

none (landlocked)

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

small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

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)

Addis Ababa

ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia A. BRAZEAL embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 550666 FAX: [251] (1) 551328

chief of mission: Ambassador KASSAHUN Ayele chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 686-9551 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York

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 NA 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%

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

federal republic

oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

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)

currently transitional mix of national and regional courts

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 by party - 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 some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought

National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [leader NA]; Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM [ADDISU Legesse]; Bench Madji People's Democratic Organization or BMPDO [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [leader NA]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of ANDM, OPDO, SEPDF, and TPLF); Gedeyo People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or GPRDF [leader NA]; Gurage 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 People's Democratic Organization or OPDO [JUNEDI Sado]; Sidamo People's Democratic Organization or SPDO [leader NA]; South Omo People's Democratic Movement or SOPDM [leader NA]; Tigrayan People's Liberation Front or TPLF [MELES Zenawi]; Walayta, Gamo, Gofa, Dawro, and Konta People's Democratic Organization or WGGPDO [leader NA]; dozens of small parties

Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF [leader NA]; Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia or CAFPDE [BEYANE Petros]; Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition or SEPDC [BEYANE Petros]

18 years of age; universal

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 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.

Ethiopian National Defense Force: Ground Forces, Air Force, Mobilized Militia note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession

$345 million (2003)

5.2% (2003)

males age 15-49: 15,748,632 (2004 est.)

males age 15-49: 8,234,442 (2004 est.)

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)

males: 760,868 (2004 est.)

0-14 years: 44.7% (male 15,189,921; female 15,109,870) 15-64 years: 52.5% (male 17,857,758; female 17,767,411) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 855,103; female 1,071,218) (2004 est.)

39.23 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

20.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

4.4% (2003 est.)

120,000 (2003 est.)

1.5 million (2003 est.)

total: 102.12 deaths/1,000 live births male: 112.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 91.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

total population: 40.88 years male: 40.03 years female: 41.75 years (2004 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

total: 17.4 years male: 17.3 years female: 17.4 years (2004 est.)

noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan for refuge from war and famine in earlier years is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2004 est.)

67,851,281 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 2004 est.)

1.89% (2004 est.)

Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%

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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

5.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 independent boundary commission's delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme - the focus of the 1998-2000 war - and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision; Ethiopia maintains only an administrative line and no international border with the Oromo region of southern Somalia and maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to the Transitional National Government, which lost its mandate in August 2003, in Mogadishu; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been delayed by civil war

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 (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center

refugees (country of origin): 93,032 (Sudan), 23,578 (Somalia) IDPs: 132,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000 and ethnic clashes in Gambela; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela Provinces) (2004)

82 (2003 est.)

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 (2004 est.)

total: 69 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: 23 (2004 est.)

total: 31,571 km paved: 3,789 km unpaved: 27,782 km (2000)

total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 81,933 GRT/101,287 DWT by type: cargo 5, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2004 est.)

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

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 (2003)