Population:
54,270,464 (July 1992), growth rate 3.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
45 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
14 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
112 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
50 years male, 53 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.9 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Ethiopian(s); adjective - Ethiopian
Ethnic divisions:
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar
4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religions:
Muslim 40-45%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35-40%, animist 15-20%, other 5%
Languages:
Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga, Somali, Arabic, English
(major foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy:
62% (male NA%, female NA%) age 10 and over can read and write (1983 est.)
Labor force:
18,000,000; agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, government and services
12%, industry and construction 8% (1985)
Organized labor:
All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government in January 1977 to
represent 273,000 registered trade union members; was dissolved when the TGE
came to power; labor code of 1975 is being redrafted
:Ethiopia Government
Long-form name:
none
Type:
on 28 May 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)
toppled the authoritarian government of MENGISTU Haile-Mariam and took
control in Addis Ababa; the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE),
announced as a two-year transitional period; on 29 May 1991, Issayas
AFEWORKE, secretary general of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
(EPLF), announced the formation of the Provisional Government in Eritrea
(PGE), in preparation for an eventual referendum on independence for the
province
Capital:
Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions:
14 administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader
akababi) and 1 autonomous region* (rasgez akababi); Addis Ababa (Addis
Ababa), Afar, Agew, Amhara, Benishangul, Ertra (Eritrea)*, Gambela,
Gurage-Hadiya-Wolayta, Harer, Kefa, Omo, Oromo, Sidamo, Somali, Tigray
Independence:
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at
least 2,000 years
Constitution:
to be redrafted by 1993
Legal system:
NA
National holiday:
National Revolution Day 12 September (1974)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
Council of Representatives
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Interim President Meles ZENAWI (since 1 June 1991); transitional government
Head of Government:
Acting Prime Minister Tamirat LAYNE (since 6 June 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
NA
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
Council of Representatives:
last held 14 June 1987 (next to be held after new constitution drafted)
President:
last held 10 September 1987; next election planned after new constitution
drafted; results - MENGISTU Haile-Mariam elected by the now defunct National
Assembly, but resigned and left Ethiopia on 21 May 1991
Other political or pressure groups:
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP);
numerous small, ethnic-based groups have formed since Mengistu's resignation
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Counselor, Charge d'Affaires ad interim Girma AMARE; Chancery at 2134
Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-2281 or 2282
:Ethiopia Government
US:
Charge d'Affaires Marc A. BAAS; Embassy at Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
(mailing address is P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa); telephone [251] (01)
550666; FAX [251] (1) 551-166
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red; Ethiopia is
the oldest independent country in Africa, and the colors of her flag were so
often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became
known as the pan-African colors
:Ethiopia Economy
Overview:
Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa. Its
economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for about 45% of
GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates 60% of
export earnings. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs
from the agricultural sector. Over 90% of large-scale industry, but less
than 10% of agriculture, is state run; the government is considering selling
off a portion of state-owned plants. Favorable agricultural weather largely
explains the 4.5% growth in output in FY89, whereas drought and
deteriorating internal security conditions prevented growth in FY90. In 1991
the lack of law and order, particularly in the south, interfered with
economic development and growth.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $6.6 billion, per capita $130, real growth rate-
0.4% (FY90 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
NA
Budget:
revenues $1.8 billion; expenditures $1.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of $842 million (FY88)
Exports:
$429 million (f.o.b., FY88)
commodities:
coffee 60%, hides
partners:
US, FRG, Djibouti, Japan, PDRY, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia
Imports:
$1.1 billion (c.i.f., FY88)
commodities:
food, fuels, capital goods
partners:
USSR, Italy, FRG, Japan, UK, US, France
External debt:
$2.6 billion (1988)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2.3% (FY89 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP
Electricity:
330,000 kW capacity; 650 million kWh produced, 10 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement
Agriculture:
accounts for 45% of GDP and is the most important sector of the economy even
though frequent droughts and poor cultivation practices keep farm output
low; famines not uncommon; export crops of coffee and oilseeds grown partly
on state farms; estimated 50% of agricultural production at subsistence
level; principal crops and livestock - cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds,
sugarcane, potatoes and other vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep,
goats
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $504 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.4 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.0
billion
Currency:
birr (plural - birr); 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
birr (Br) per US$1 - 2.0700 (fixed rate)
:Ethiopia Economy
Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July
:Ethiopia Communications