districts to serve five-year terms)elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held NA 2010)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - OPDO 177,
ANDM 134, TPLF 38, WGGPDO 27, EPRDF 19, SPDO 18, GNDM 15, KSPDO 10,
ANDP 8, GPRDF 7, SOPDM 7, BGPDUF 6, BMPDO 5, KAT 4, other regional
political groupings 22, independents 8; note - 43 seats unconfirmed
note: irregularities and violence at some polling stations
necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies;
voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought
Judicial branch:
Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the
Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and
appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other
federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's
Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal
Judicial Administrative Council)
Political parties and leaders:
Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [leader NA]; Benishangul
Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE];
Coalition for Unity and Democracy or CUD [HAILU Shawil]; Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an
alliance of ANDM, OPDO, SEPDF, and TPLF); Gurage Nationalities'
Democratic Movement or GNDM [leader NA]; United Ethopian Democratic
Forces or UEDF [MERARA Gudina]; dozens of small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF [leader NA];
Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia or
CAFPDE [BEYANE Petros]; Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic
Coalition or SEPDC [BEYANE Petros]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNMIL, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador KASSAHUN Ayele chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364–1200 FAX: [1] (202) 686–9551 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia A. BRAZEAL embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 550666 FAX: [251] (1) 551328
Flag description:
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;
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three
main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African
countries upon independence that they became known as the
pan-African colors
Economy Ethiopia
Economy - overview:
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. 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 late in 2003
helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$54.89 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
11.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 47% industry: 12.4% services: 40.6% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
NA (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%,
government and services 12% (1985)
Unemployment rate:
NA (2002)
Population below poverty line:
50% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)
