Ethiopia

agricultural land:

36.3%;

• arable land 15.2%;
• permanent crops 1.1%;
• permanent pasture 20%

forest:

12.2%

other:

51.5% (2011 est.)

• highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa;
• the far east and southeast are sparsely populated

• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• desertification;
• water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

• landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993;
• Ethiopia is, therefore, the most populous landlocked country in the world;
• 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

noun:

Ethiopian(s)

adjective:

Ethiopian

Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 est.)

• highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa;
• the far east and southeast are sparsely populated

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis (2016)

conventional long form:

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

conventional short form:

Ethiopia

local long form:

Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik

local short form:

Ityop'iya

former:

Abyssinia, Italian East Africa

abbreviation:

FDRE

etymology:

the country name derives from the Greek word "Aethiopia," which in classical times referred to lands south of Egypt in the Upper Nile region

name:

Addis Ababa

geographic coordinates:

9 02 N, 38 42 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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)

history:

several previous; latest drafted June 1994, adopted 8 December 1994, entered into force 21 August 1995

amendments:

• proposals submitted for discussion require two-thirds majority approval in either house of Parliament or majority approval of one-third of the State Councils;
• passage of amendments other than constitutional articles on fundamental rights and freedoms and the initiation and amendment of the constitution requires two-thirds majority vote in a joint session of Parliament and majority vote by two-thirds of the State Councils;
• passage of amendments affecting rights and freedoms and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote in each house of Parliament and majority vote by all the State Councils (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Ethiopia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

4 years

chief of state:

President MULATU Teshome Wirtu (since 7 October 2013)

head of government:

Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn (since 21 September 2012); Deputy Prime Minister DEMEKE Mekonnen Hassen

cabinet:

Council of Ministers selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 7 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2019);
• prime minister designated by the majority party following legislative elections

election results:

MULATU Teshome Wirtu (OPDO) elected president; Parliament vote - 659 (unanimous)

• bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or Yefedereshein Mikir Bete (153 seats; members indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 5-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete (547 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; 22 seats reserved for minorities; all members serve 5-year terms);
• note - the House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation

elections:

last held on 24 May 2015 (next to be held in 2020)

election results:

House of Representatives percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - EPRDF 501, SPDP 24, BGPDUP 9, ANDP 8, GPUDM 3, APDO 1, HNL 1

highest court(s):

Federal Supreme Court (consists of 11 judges); note - the House of Federation has jurisdiction for all constitutional issues

judge selection and term of office:

• president and vice president of Federal Supreme Court recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives;
• other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council (a 10-member body chaired by the president of the Federal Supreme Court) and appointed by the House of People's Representatives;
• judges serve until retirement at age 60

subordinate courts:

• federal high courts and federal courts of first instance;
• state court systems (mirror structure of federal system);
• sharia courts and customary and traditional courts

• Ginbot 7 Movement
• Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF
• Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]

chief of mission:

Ambassador GIRMA Birru Geda (since 6 January 2011)

chancery:

3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 364-1200

FAX:

[1] (202) 587-0195

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, Seattle

consulate(s):

Houston, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael RAYNOR (since 3 October 2017)

embassy:

Entoto Street, Addis Ababa

mailing address:

P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa

telephone:

[251] 11 130-6000

FAX:

124-2401 [251] 11 124 2401

• 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 appropriated 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

name:

"Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia)

lyrics/music:

DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu

note: adopted 1992

• cereals, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, khat, cut flowers;
• hides, cattle, sheep, goats;
• fish

agriculture:

72.7%

industry:

7.4%

services:

19.9% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.1%

highest 10%:

25.6% (2005)

general assessment:

• Ethio Telecom maintains a monopoly over telecommunication services;
• open-wire, microwave radio relay;
• radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies;
• 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service

domestic:

the number of mobile telephones is increasing steadily from a small base and now stands at over 50 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 251;
• open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti;
• microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 75

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

7,074,779

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,228,738,320 mt-km (2015)

total:

659 km (Ethiopian segment of the 756 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)

standard gauge:

659 km 1.435-m gauge

note: electric railway with redundant power supplies; under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia and managed by a Chinese contractor (2017)

country comparison to the world: 102

total:

110,414 km

paved:

14,354 km

unpaved:

96,060 km (2015)

country comparison to the world: 44

total:

8

by type:

cargo 8 (2010)

country comparison to the world: 122

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct callups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2012)

• Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement;
• the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region;
• Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist courts from Mogadishu in January 2007;
• "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia;
• civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia

refugees (country of origin):

• 411,896 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers);
• 252,385 (Somalia) (refugees and asylum seekers);
• 163,281 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers);
• 43,251 (Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2017)

IDPs:

258,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000; ethnic clashes; and ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian military and separatist rebel groups in the Sumale and Oromiya regions; natural disasters; intercommunal violence; most IDPs live in Sumale state) (2016)

• transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa;
• cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries);
• the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center