Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchymaintained 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 two and a half year border war with
Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 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 sensitive territory.
Geography Ethiopia
Location:
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 38 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km,
Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain:
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift
Valley
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Denakil Depression −125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m
Natural resources:
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas,
hydropower
Land use: arable land: 10.71% permanent crops: 0.75% other: 88.54% (2001)
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
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:
73,053,286
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
2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 43.9% (male 16,082,504/female 15,999,602)
15–64 years: 53.4% (male 19,452,737/female 19,525,746)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 905,648/female 1,087,049) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.75 years
male: 17.64 years
female: 17.85 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.36% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
38.61 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 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;
