Overview:
Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa, and officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 85.2 million people and the tenth-largest by area, with its 1,100,000 km2. The capital is Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. When Africa was divided up by European powers at the Berlin Conference (1884), Ethiopia was one of only two countries that retained its independence. 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 (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995.
The country is a land of natural contrasts, with waterfalls and volcanic hot springs. Ethiopia has some of Africa's highest mountains as well as some of the world's lowest points below sea level. The largest cave in Africa is located in Ethiopia at Sof Omar, and the country's northernmost area at Dallol is one of the hottest places year-round anywhere on Earth. There are altogether around 80 different ethnic groups in Ethiopia today, with the two largest being the Oromo and the Amhara, both of which speak Afro-Asiatic languages. The country is also famous for its Olympic gold medalists, rock-hewn churches and as the place where the coffee bean originated. Currently, Ethiopia is the top coffee and honey-producing country in Africa, and home to the largest livestock population in Africa. Ethiopia has close historical ties to all three of the world's major Abrahamic religions. It was one of the first Christian countries in the world, having officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. It still has a Christian majority, but a third of the population is Muslim. Ethiopia is the site of the first hijra in Islamic history and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. Until the 1980s, a substantial population of Ethiopian Jews resided in Ethiopia. The country is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari religious movement.
Ethiopia, which has Africa's second biggest hydropower potential, is the source of over 85% of the total Nile water flow and contains rich soils, but it nevertheless underwent a series of famines in the 1980s, exacerbated by adverse geopolitics and civil wars, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands. Slowly, however, the country has begun to recover, and today Ethiopia has the biggest economy in East Africa as the Ethiopian economy is also one of the fastest growing in the world. It is a regional powerhouse in the Horn and east Africa. The country remains politically fragile.
Geography:
Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Area: 1,104,300 sq km
Country comparison to the world: 27
Climate: Tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain: High plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m
Highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 m
Natural resources: Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
Natural hazards: Geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts
People
Population: 88,013,491
Country comparison to the world: 14
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.1%
15-64 years: 51.2%
65 years and over: 2.7%
Population growth rate: 3.202% (2010 est.)
Urbanization: 17% of total population (2010)
Sex ratio:
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 55.8 years
Country comparison to the world: 196
Male: 53.28 years
Female: 58.39 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.07 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 8
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.1% (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 31
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
980,000 (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 12
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
67,000 (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 11
Nationality:
Noun: Ethiopian(s)
Adjective: Ethiopian
Ethnic groups:
Oromo 34.5%, Amara 26.9%, Somalie 6.2%, Tigraway 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Guragie 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Affar 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, other 11.3% (2007 Census)
Religions:
Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.6%, traditional 2.6%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.7% (2007 Census)
Languages:
Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 32.7%, Oromigna (official regional) 31.6%, Tigrigna (official regional) 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (1994 census)
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 42.7%
Male: 50.3%
Female: 35.1% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name:
Conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa
Abbreviation: FDRE
Government type:
Federal republic
Capital:
Name: Addis Ababa
Independence:
Oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
Flag description:
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
Note: Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag (adopted ca. 1895) were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the Pan-African colors; the emblem in the center of the current flag was added in 1996
Economy
Labor force:
37.9 million (2007)
Country comparison to the world: 17
Labor force - by occupation:
Agriculture: 85%
Industry: 5%
Services: 10% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
38.7%
Agriculture - products:
Cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Industries:
Food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement
Other Info:
Broadcast media:
1 public TV broadcast station broadcasting nationally and 1 public radio broadcaster
Internet country code:
.et
Transportation
Airports: 61 (2010)
Country comparison to the world: 79
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct call-ups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2009)
