Ethiopia

Find a country's flag, map or national anthem here. Click on a letter to find the country:

Ethiopia

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Ya'Ityopya Federalawi Dimokrasiyawi Repeblik/Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Area 1,096,900 sq km/423,513 sq mi Capital Addis Ababa Language Amharic (official), Arabic, Tigrinya, Orominga, about 100 other local languages Religion Muslim 45%, Ethiopian Orthodox Church (which has had its own patriarch since 1976) 35%, animist 12%, other Christian 8% Time difference GMT +3 Major holidays 7, 19 January, 2 March, 6 April, 1 May, 12, 27 September; variable: Eid-ul-Adha, end of Ramadan, Ethiopian New Year (September), Prophet's Birthday, Ethiopian Good Friday, and Easter


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Jimma, Dire Dawa, Harar, Nazret, Dese, Gonder, Mek'ele, Bahir Dar Physical features a high plateau with central mountain range divided by Rift Valley; plains in east; source of Blue Nile River; Danakil and Ogaden deserts Airports two international airports and over 40 small domestic airports or airfields; total passengers carried: 1.15 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 781 km/485 mi Roads total road network: 33,856 km/21,037 mi, of which 12.9% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 2 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Girma Woldegiorgis from 2001 Head of government Meles Zenawi from 1995 Political system emergent democracy Political executive limited presidency Administrative divisions nine states and two chartered cities Political parties Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), nationalist, left of centre; Tigré People's Liberation Front (TPLF); Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (EPDM); United Oromo Liberation Front, Islamic nationalist Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 182,500 (2006 est) Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 3.1 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 4.6 (2002 est) Health spend (% GDP) 3.4 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Ethiopian birr GDP (US$) 11.2 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 5.4 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 11.1 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 1,000 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 12.3% (2006 est) Unemployment 23% (2004 est) Labour force 85% agriculture, 8% industry, 7% services (2003 est) Foreign debt (US$) 6.8 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Germany, USA, Japan, China, Italy Resources gold, salt, platinum, copper, potash. Reserves of petroleum have not been exploited Industries food processing, petroleum refining, beverages, textiles Exports coffee, hides and skins, petroleum products, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables, khat. Principal market: Djibouti 13.8% (2005) Imports machinery, aircraft and other vehicles, petroleum and petroleum products, basic manufactures, chemicals and related products, foodstuffs. Principal source: Saudi Arabia 26.6% (2005) Arable land 10% (2006 est) Agricultural products coffee, teff (an indigenous grain), barley, maize, sorghum, sugar cane; livestock rearing (cattle and sheep) and livestock products (hides, skins, butter, and ghee)


POPULATION

Population 79,289,100 (2006 est) Population growth rate 2.3% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 72 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 16 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 44%, 15–59 51%, 60+ 5% (2005 est) Ethnic groups over 80 different ethnic groups, the two main ones are the Amhara and Oromo who comprise about 60% of the population; other groups include Sidamo (9%), Shankella (6%), Somali (16%), and Atar (4%) Life expectancy 48 (men); 49 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 166 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 6 Literacy rate 49% (men); 34% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 0.3 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 0.2 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 2.8 (2005 est) AIDS deaths 95,000 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 81 (urban); 11 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 0.8 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 0.5 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 196 (1999) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 8 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 0.3 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 0.2 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

1st–7th centuries AD Founded by Semitic immigrants from Saudi Arabia, the kingdom of Aksum and its capital, northwest of Adwa, flourished. It reached its peak in the 4th century when Coptic Christianity was introduced from Egypt. 7th century onwards Islam was spread by Arab conquerors. 11th century Emergence of independent Ethiopian kingdom of Abyssinia, which was to remain dominant for nine centuries. late 15th century Abyssinia visited by Portuguese explorers. 1889 Abyssinia reunited by Menelik II. 1896 Invasion by Italy defeated by Menelik at Adwa, who went on to annex Ogaden in the southeast and areas to the west. 1916 Haile Selassie became regent. 1930 Haile Selassie became emperor. 1936 Conquered by Italy and incorporated in Italian East Africa. 1941 Return of Emperor Selassie after liberation by the British. 1952 Ethiopia federated with Eritrea. 1962 Eritrea annexed by Selassie; Eritrean People's Liberation front (EPLF) resistance movement began rebellion lasting 30 years. 1963 First conference of Selassie-promoted Organization of African Unity (OAU; later African Union) held in Addis Ababa. 1973–74 Severe famine in northern Ethiopia; 200,000 died in Wallo province. 1974 Haile Selassie deposed and replaced by military regime. 1977 Col Mengistu Haile Mariam took over government. Somali forces ejected from Somali-peopled Ogaden in the southeast. 1977–79 ‘Red Terror’ period in which Mengistu's single-party Marxist regime killed thousands of people and promoted collective farming; Tigré People's Liberation Front guerrillas began fighting for regional autonomy in northern highlands. 1984 Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) declared the sole legal political party. 1985 Worst famine in over a decade; forced internal resettlement programmes in Eritrea and Tigré. 1987 Mengistu elected president under new constitution. 1991 Mengistu overthrown; transitional government set up by opposing Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), headed by Meles Zenawi; EPLF took control of Eritrea; country gripped by famine again. 1993 Eritrean independence recognized after referendum; private farming and market sector encouraged by EPRDF government. 1994 Federal constitution adopted. 1995 Ruling EPRDF won majority in first multiparty elections to interim parliament; Meles Zenawi appointed premier. 1998 There was a border dispute with Eritrea. 1999–2000 Border dispute with Eritrea erupted into war, resulting in 70,000 deaths; peace agreement provided for UN supervision of border zone. 2000 Haile Selassie ceremoniously reburied in Addis Ababa. 2001 Meles Zenawi survived attempt by his own Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to remove him from office. 2003 International boundary commission awarded disputed town of Badame to Eritrea; Ethiopia rejected decision. 2005 Violent protests after EPRDF won disputed elections and Meles Zenawi confirmed as premier; fears of renewed war with Eritrea. 2006 Opposition Alliance for Freedom and Democracy formed abroad; Eritrea and Ethiopia rejected demarcation proposal by international boundary commission; Ethiopia provided military support to neighbouring transitional government in Somalia, defeating Islamist militias. 2007 Exiled former dictator Mengistu sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for genocide.


© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.