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. A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea in the late 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Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea.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

8 00 N, 38 00 E

Africa

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 m

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

arable land 15.2%; permanent crops 1.1%; permanent pasture 20%

2,900 sq km (2012)

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

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

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

102,374,044

Oromo 34.4%, Amhara (Amara) 27%, Somali (Somalie) 6.2%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Afar (Affar) 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 8.8% (2007 est.)

Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 est.)

Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.5%, traditional 2.7%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.6% (2007 est.)

Ethiopia is a predominantly agricultural country – more than 80% of the population lives in rural areas – that is in the early stages of demographic transition. Infant, child, and maternal mortality have fallen sharply over the past decade, but the total fertility rate has declined more slowly and the population continues to grow. The rising age of marriage and the increasing proportion of women remaining single have contributed to fertility reduction. While the use of modern contraceptive methods among married women has increased significantly from 6 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2012, the overall rate is still quite low.

Ethiopia’s rapid population growth is putting increasing pressure on land resources, expanding environmental degradation, and raising vulnerability to food shortages. With more than 40 percent of the population below the age of 15 and a fertility rate of over 5 children per woman (and even higher in rural areas), Ethiopia will have to make further progress in meeting its family planning needs if it is to achieve the age structure necessary for reaping a demographic dividend in the coming decades.

Poverty, drought, political repression, and forced government resettlement have driven Ethiopia’s internal and external migration since the 1960s. Before the 1974 revolution, only small numbers of the Ethiopian elite went abroad to study and then returned home, but under the brutal Derg regime thousands fled the country, primarily as refugees. Between 1982 and 1991 there was a new wave of migration to the West for family reunification. Since the defeat of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopians have migrated to escape violence among some of the country’s myriad ethnic groups or to pursue economic opportunities. Internal and international trafficking of women and children for domestic work and prostitution is a growing problem.

2.88% (2016 est.)

36.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

ADDIS ABABA (capital) 3.238 million (2015)

19.6

353 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

5.07 children born/woman (2016 est.)

28.6% (2010/11)

4.9% of GDP (2014)

0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

6.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)

urban: 93.1% of population

rural: 48.6% of population

total: 57.3% of population

urban: 6.9% of population

rural: 51.4% of population

total: 42.7% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 27.2% of population

rural: 28.2% of population

total: 28% of population

urban: 72.8% of population

rural: 71.8% of population

total: 72% of population (2015 est.)

1.15% (2014 est.)

730,300 (2014 est.)

23,400 (2014 est.)

3.3% (2014)

25.2% (2014)

4.5% of GDP (2013)

federal parliamentary republic

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 (2016)

civil law system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or Yefedereshein Mikir Bete (108 seats; members indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 5-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete (547 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation

Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Mohammed KEDIR]

Argoba People Democratic Organization or APDO

Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party or BGPDP

Blue Party (Semayawi Party) [Yanatan TESFAYE, spokesman]

Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum or FORUM [Dr. Moga FRISSA] (a UDJ-led 6-party alliance established for the 2010 parliamentary elections)

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [Hailemarian DESALEGN] (including the following organizations: Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM; Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO; Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement or SEPDM; Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF)

Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM

Harari National League or HNL [YASIN Husein]

Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP

Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF

Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF

Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]

ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, EITI (candidate country), 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)

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

Abyssinian lion (traditional), yellow pentagram with five rays of light on a blue field (promoted by current government); national colors: green, yellow, red

Ethiopia has grown at a rate between 8% and 11% annually for more than a decade and the country is the fifth-fastest growing economy among the 188 IMF member countries. This growth has been driven by sustained progress in the agricultural and service sectors. Ethiopia has the lowest level of income-inequality in Africa and one of the lowest in the world, with a Gini coefficient comparable to that of the Scandinavian countries. Yet despite progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, due both to rapid population growth and a low starting base. Changes in rainfall associated with world-wide weather patterns resulted in the worst drought in thirty years in 2015/2016, creating food insecurity for millions of Ethiopians.

Almost 80% of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to tenants. Since 2005, the Ethiopian government has introduced a system to register traditional land use rights and provide certificates documenting these rights. Initial surveys show that land-use certificates have significantly increased the willingness of farmers to invest in improvements on their land, from terracing to irrigation. However, title rights in urban areas, particularly Addis Ababa, are poorly regulated, and subject to corruption.

Ethiopia’s export earnings are led by the services sector - primarily Ethiopian airlines - followed by several commodities. While coffee remains the largest foreign exchange earner, Ethiopia is diversifying exports and commodities such as gold, sesame, khat, livestock and horticulture products are becoming increasingly important. Manufacturing represents less than 8% of total exports. The banking, insurance, telecommunications, and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors, but Ethiopia has attracted significant foreign investment in textiles, leather, commercial agriculture, and light manufacturing.

Ethiopia remains a one-party state with a planned economy. In the fall of 2015, the government finalized and published the current 2016-2020 five year plan, known as the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). GTP II emphasizes developing manufactures in sectors where Ethiopia has a comparative advantage in exporting, including textiles and garments, leather goods, and processed agricultural products. New infrastructure projects are to include power production and distribution, roads, rails, airports and industrial parks. To support industrialization, Ethiopia plans to increase power generation by 8,320 MW, up from an installed capacity of 2,000 MW, by building three more major dams and expanding to other sources of renewable energy. Construction is underway on an electric railway network that will connect Ethiopia to all its neighbors, with a link to the Port of Djibouti already finished and partially functioning. A tripling of capacity at the international airport in Addis Ababa to 25 million passengers will be completed in 2017, while construction of a completely new airport is being planned by 2025. Meanwhile, the domestic airport network has expanded to nineteen airports in a country where mountains and deserts make developing and maintaining a road network challenging. Despite difficult topography, more than a hundred thousand kilometers of roads have been built, connecting previously isolated regions.

$161.6 billion (2015 est.)

$146.7 billion (2014 est.)

$133 billion (2013 est.)

$61.63 billion (2015 est.)

10.2% (2015 est.)

10.3% (2014 est.)

9.9% (2013 est.)

$1,800 (2015 est.)

$1,700 (2014 est.)

$1,500 (2013 est.)

38% of GDP (2015 est.)

38% of GDP (2014 est.)

34.1% of GDP (2013 est.)

cereals, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish

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

21.6% (2015 est.)

49.27 million (2015 est.)

17.5% (2012 est.)

18% (2011 est.)

29.6% (2014 est.)

33 (2011)

30 (2000)

15% of GDP (2015 est.)

-2.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

49.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

54.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

8 July - 7 July

10.1% (2015 est.)

7.4% (2014 est.)

NA%

11.5% (31 December 2015 est.)

11% (31 December 2014 est.)

$11.97 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$10.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$23.77 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$20.75 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$28.41 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$22.66 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$NA

-$7.893 billion (2015 est.)

-$4.407 billion (2014 est.)

$2.935 billion (2015 est.)

$3.283 billion (2014 est.)

coffee (27%, by value), oilseeds (17%), edible vegetables including khat (17%), gold (13%), flowers (7%), live animals (7%), raw leather products (3%), meat products (3%)

Switzerland 14.3%, China 11.7%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.9%, Germany 5.7% (2015)

$15.87 billion (2015 est.)

$15.86 billion (2014 est.)

machinery and aircraft (14%, by value), metal and metal products, (14%), electrical materials, (13%), petroleum products (12%), motor vehicles, (10%), chemicals and fertilizers (4%)

China 20.4%, US 9.2%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, India 4.5% (2015)

$3.113 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$3.132 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$19.04 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$16.59 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

birr (ETB) per US dollar -

21.55 (2015 est.)

19.8 (2014 est.)

19.8 (2013 est.)

17.71 (2012 est.)

16.899 (2011 est.)

9.5 billion kWh (2014 est.)

6.7 billion kWh (2014 est.)

1.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

2.4 million kW (2014 est.)

8.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

88.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

3.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

430,000 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

61,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

58,740 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)

9.3 million Mt (2013 est.)

6 public TV stations broadcasting nationally and 10 public radio broadcasters; 7 private radio stations and 18 community radio stations (2015)

.et

ET (2016)

57 (2013)

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)

0.91% of GDP (2012)

1.1% of GDP (2011)

0.91% of GDP (2010)

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

transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, 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