Ethiopia
Official Country Name
Ethiopia
Ethiopia Overview
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. 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. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia Economy
Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the International Monetary Fund voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-06.
Ethiopia Location
Ethiopia is located in Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Region
Ethiopia is located in Africa
Ethiopia Population
Ethiopia has population of 74,777,981 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS
Ethiopia Climate
Ethiopia has tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Ethiopia Terrain
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Ethiopia Natural Resources
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
Ethnic Groups in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has the following ethnic groups - Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Ethiopia Religions
Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%
Ethiopia Languages
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Ethiopia Capital
Ethiopia capital is Addis Ababa
Ethiopia Currency
Ethiopia currency is birr
Map of Ethiopia
