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Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea.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 4,550 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)

highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated

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

105,350,020

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.

2.85% (2017 est.)

36.5 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated

ADDIS ABABA (capital) 3.238 million (2015)

20 years

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

4.99 children born/woman (2017 est.)

39.2% (2016)

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.)

1.1% (2016 est.)

710,000 (2016 est.)

20,000 (2016 est.)

4.5% (2016)

23.6% (2016)

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.)

Derg Downfall Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

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 (153 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; 22 seats reserved for minorities; all members 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 [Taha AHMED]

Argoba People Democratic Organization or APDO

Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Party or BGPDUP

Blue Party (Semayawi Party) [Solomon TESSEMA, spokesman]

Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum or MEDREK [Beyene PETROS] (a 4-party alliance)

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [Hailemarian DESALEGN] (includes 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 [Murad ABDULHADI]

Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP

Ginbot 7 Movement

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, UN Security Council (temporary), 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 - the second most populous country in Africa - is a one-party state with a planned economy. For more than a decade before 2016, Ethiopia grew at a rate between 8% and 11% annually – one of the fastest growing states among the 188 IMF member countries. This growth was driven by government investment in infrastructure, as well as sustained progress in the agricultural and service sectors. More than 70% of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP.

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 30 years in 2015-16, creating food insecurity for millions of Ethiopians.

The state is heavily engaged in the economy. Ongoing infrastructure projects include power production and distribution, roads, rails, airports and industrial parks. Key sectors are state-owned, including telecommunications, banking and insurance, and power distribution. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to tenants. Title rights in urban areas, particularly Addis Ababa, are poorly regulated, and subject to corruption.

Ethiopia’s foreign exchange earnings are led by the services sector - primarily the state-run Ethiopian Airlines - followed by exports of 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 represented less than 8% of total exports in 2016, but manufacturing exports should increase in future years due to a growing international presence.

The banking, insurance, telecommunications, and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors, but Ethiopia has attracted roughly $8.5 billion in foreign direct investment, mostly from China, Turkey, India and the EU; US FDI is $567 million. Investment has been primarily in infrastructure, construction, agriculture/horticulture, agricultural processing, textiles, leather and leather products.

In the fall of 2015, the government finalized and published the current 2016-20 five-year plan, known as the Growth and Transformation Plan II, which emphasizes developing manufacturing in sectors where Ethiopia has a comparative advantage, such as textiles and garments, leather goods, and processed agricultural products. To support industrialization, Ethiopia plans to increase installed power generation capacity by 8,320 MW, up from a capacity of 2,000 MW, by building three more major dams and expanding to other sources of renewable energy.

$177.4 billion (2016 est.)

$162.3 billion (2015 est.)

$145.4 billion (2014 est.)

$72.52 billion (2016 est.)

8% (2016 est.)

10.4% (2015 est.)

10.3% (2014 est.)

$1,900 (2016 est.)

$1,800 (2015 est.)

$1,700 (2014 est.)

32% of GDP (2016 est.)

31.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

30.7% of GDP (2014 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

20.6% (2016 est.)

51.05 million (2016 est.)

17.5% (2012 est.)

18% (2011 est.)

29.6% (2014 est.)

33 (2011)

30 (2000)

15.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

-3.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

54.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

58% of GDP (2015 est.)

8 July - 7 July

7.3% (2016 est.)

10.1% (2015 est.)

NA%

12.2% (31 December 2016 est.)

11.5% (31 December 2015 est.)

$14.56 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$12.34 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$28.21 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$25.24 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$36.37 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$29.35 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$NA

$-7.206 billion (2016 est.)

$-9.206 billion (2015 est.)

$2.814 billion (2016 est.)

$2.891 billion (2015 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%)

US 9.7%, Saudi Arabia 9.6%, Germany 8.5%, Switzerland 7.5%, China 5.1%, UAE 4.9%, Pakistan 4.4% (2016)

$16.03 billion (2016 est.)

$17.51 billion (2015 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 28.8%, US 8%, India 6.7%, Kuwait 5% (2016)

$3.022 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$3.827 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$24.82 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$20.41 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

birr (ETB) per US dollar -

21.732 (2016 est.)

21.732 (2015 est.)

21.55 (2014 est.)

19.8 (2013 est.)

17.71 (2012 est.)

10.08 billion kWh (2015 est.)

8.143 billion kWh (2015 est.)

166 million kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

2.704 million kW (2015 est.)

7.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

79.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

13.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

428,000 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

65,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

64,380 bbl/day (2014 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 2017 es)

9.3 million Mt (2013 est.)

6 public TV stations broadcasting nationally and 10 public radio broadcasters; 7 private radio stations and 19 community radio stations (2017)

.et

ET (2016)

57 (2013)

Ethiopia is landlocked and uses the ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia

0.67% of GDP (2016)

0.71% of GDP (2015)

0.77% of GDP (2014)

0.81% of GDP (2013)

0.87% of GDP (2012)

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)