Natural resources:
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas,
hydropower
Land use: arable land: 9.9% permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.45% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
1,900 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note:
landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the
de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; 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
People Ethiopia
Population:
66,557,553
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2003 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 44.8% (male 14,944,168; female 14,871,164)
15–64 years: 52.4% (male 17,474,403; female 17,384,817)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 840,057; female 1,042,944) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.3 years
female: 17.4 years (2002)
male: 17.3 years
Population growth rate:
1.96% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
39.81 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
20.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan for refuge from
war and famine in earlier years is expected to continue for several
years; some Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from
the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to
their homes (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 103.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 92.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 113.48 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.24 years
male: 40.39 years
female: 42.11 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.55 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6.4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2.1 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
160,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian
Ethnic groups:
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali
6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religions:
Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%
Languages:
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other
local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1% (2003 est.)
Government Ethiopia
Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia
local short form: Ityop'iya
former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa
local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
abbreviation: FDRE
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions:
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)
Independence:
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the
world - at least 2,000 years
National holiday:
National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
Constitution:
ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995
Legal system:
currently transitional mix of national and regional courts
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August