ETHIOPIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 1,221,900 km2; land area: 1,101,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 5,141 km total; Djibouti 459 km, Kenya 861 km,
Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 2,221 km
Coastline: 1,094 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a
Provisional Administrative Line; possible claim by Somalia based on
unification of ethnic Somalis; territorial dispute with Somalia over
the Ogaden; separatist movement in Eritrea; antigovernment insurgencies
in Tigray and other areas
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation;
some areas prone to extended droughts
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great
Rift Valley
Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash
Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
41%; forest and woodland 24%; other 22%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; deforestation; overgrazing; soil
erosion; desertification; frequent droughts; famine
Note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest
shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; major resettlement
project--that was ongoing in rural areas and would have significantly
altered population distribution and settlement patterns over the next
several decades--has been derailed because of ongoing civil wars
PEOPLE
Population: 53,191,127 (July 1991), growth rate 3.1% (1991)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 114 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 53 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Ethiopian(s); adjective--Ethiopian
Ethnic divisions: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%,
Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religion: Muslim 40-45%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35-40%, animist
15-20%, other 5%
Language: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga,
Somali, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy: 62% (male NA%, female NA%) age 10 and over can
read and write (1983 est.)
Labor force: 18,000,000; agriculture and animal
husbandry 80%, government and services 12%, industry and construction 8%
(1985)
Organized labor: All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government
in January 1977 to represent 273,000 registered trade union members
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Type: on 28 May 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF) took control in Addis Ababa; on 29 May 1991
Issayas AFEWORKE, secretary general of the Eritrean People's Liberation
Front (EPLF), announced the formation of a provisional government in
Eritrea, in preparation for an eventual referendum on independence
for the province
Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 25 administrative regions (astedader
akababiwach, singular--astedader akababi) and 5
autonomous regions* (rasgez akababiwach, singular--rasgez
akababi); Addis Abeba (Addis Ababa), Arsi, Aseb*,
Asosa, Bale, Borena, Debub Gonder, Debub Shewa, Debub Welo, Dire
Dawa*, Ertra (Eritrea)*, Gambela, Gamo Gofa, Ilubabor, Kefa,
Metekel, Mirab Gojam, Mirab Harerge, Mirab Shewa, Misrak Gojam,
Misrak Harerge, Nazaret, Ogaden*, Omo, Semen Gonder,
Semen Shewa, Semen Welo, Sidamo, Tigray*, Welega
Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the
oldest in the world--at least 2,000 years
Constitution: 12 September 1987
Legal system: complex structure with civil, Islamic, common, and
customary law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Revolution Day, 12 September (1974)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of State
prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Shengo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Interim President Meles ZENAWI (since 1 June
1991);
Head of Government--Acting Prime Minister Tamrat LAYNE (since 6
June 1991)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Workers' Party of
Ethiopia (WPE)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 10 September 1987 (next to be held September
1992);
results--MENGISTU Haile-Mariam elected by the National Assembly, but
resigned and left Ethiopia on 21 May 1991;
National Assembly--last held 14 June 1987 (next to be
held NA);
results--WPE was the only party;
seats--(835 total) WPE 835
Other political or pressure groups: Oromo Liberation Front;
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Counselor, Charge d'Affaires ad
interim GIRMA Amare; Chancery at 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC
20008; telephone (202) 234-2281 or 2282;
US--Charge d'Affaires Robert G. HOUDEK; Embassy at Entoto Street,
Addis Ababa (mailing address is P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa);
telephone 251 (01) 550666
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red;
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
ECONOMY
Overview: Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed
countries in Africa. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture,
which accounts for about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total
employment; coffee generates 60% of export earnings. The
manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs from the agricultural
sector. Over 90% of large-scale industry, but less then 10% of
agriculture, is state run. Favorable agricultural weather largely
explains the 4.5% growth in output in FY89.
GDP: $6.6 billion, per capita $130, real growth rate - 0.4%
(FY89 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate: NA
Budget: revenues $1.8 billion; expenditures $1.7 billion, including
capital expenditures of $842 million (FY88)
Exports: $429 million (f.o.b., FY88);
commodities--coffee 60%, hides;
partners--US, FRG, Djibouti, Japan, PDRY, France, Italy,
Saudi Arabia
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., FY88);
commodities--food, fuels, capital goods;
partners--USSR, Italy, FRG, Japan, UK, US, France
External debt: $2.6 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (FY89 est.); accounts
for 13% of GDP
Electricity: 330,000 kW capacity; 700 million kWh produced,
14 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals,
metals processing, cement
Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP and is the most important
sector of the economy even though frequent droughts and poor cultivation
practices keep farm output low; famines not uncommon; export crops of
coffee and oilseeds grown partly on state farms; estimated 50% of
agricultural production at subsistence level; principal crops and
livestock--cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds, sugarcane, potatoes and
other vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep, goats
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $504
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $3.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.0 billion
Currency: birr (plural--birr); 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1--2.0700 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 8 July-7 July
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 988 km total; 681 km 1.000-meter gauge; 307 km
0.950-meter gauge (nonoperational)
Highways: 44,300 km total; 3,650 km bituminous, 9,650 km gravel,
3,000 km improved earth, 28,000 km unimproved earth
Ports: Aseb, Mitsiwa
Merchant marine: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 69,398
GRT/89,457 DWT; includes 9 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll off cargo, 1 livestock
carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 21 major transport aircraft
Airports: 153 total, 111 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 49 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: open-wire and radio relay system adequate for
government use; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; radio relay to Kenya and
Djibouti; stations--4 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 45,000 TV sets; 3,300,000 radios;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Police Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 11,717,614; 6,072,112 fit for
military service; 609,346 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $NA, 8.5% of GDP (1988)