Ethiopia Population: 108,386,391
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History | |
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. 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. A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia did not accept them and maintained troops in previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. This intransigence resulted in years of heightened tension between the two countries. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. Following a wave of popular dissent and anti-government protest that began in 2015, HAILEMARIAM resigned in February 2018 and ABIY Ahmed Ali took office in April 2018 as Ethiopia's first ethnic Oromo prime minister. In June 2018, ABIY announced Ethiopia would accept the border ruling of 2000, prompting rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea that was marked with a peace agreement in July 2018 and a reopening of the border in September 2018. |
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Geography | |
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Location: | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Geographic coordinates: | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Area: | total: 1,104,300 sq km land: 1,096,570 sq km water: 7,730 sq km note: area numbers are approximate since a large portion of the Ethiopia-Somalia border is undefined Size comparison: slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Land Boundaries: | total: 5,925 km border countries (6): Djibouti 342 km, Eritrea 1033 km, Kenya 867 km, Somalia 1640 km, South Sudan 1299 km, Sudan 744 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 |
Natural resources: | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Land use: | agricultural land: 36.3% (2011 est.) arable land: 15.2% (2011 est.) permanent crops: 1.1% (2011 est.) permanent pasture: 20% (2011 est.) forest: 12.2% (2011 est.) other: 51.5% (2011 est.) |
Irrigated land: | 2,900 sq km (2012) |
Natural hazards: | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m), which has caused frequent lava flows in recent years, is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir |
Current Environment Issues: | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; loss of biodiversity; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management; industrial pollution and pesticides contribute to air, water, and soil pollution |
International Environment Agreements: | 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 |
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People | |
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Nationality: | noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian |
Ethnic groups: | Oromo 34.4%, Amhara (Amara) 27%, Somali (Somalie) 6.2%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Afar (Affar) 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 8.8% (2007 est.) |
Languages: | 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.) |
Religions: | Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.5%, traditional 2.7%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.6% (2007 est.) |
Population: | 108,386,391 (July 2018 est.) 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected |
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 43.21% (male 23,494,593 /female 23,336,508) 15-24 years: 20.18% (male 10,857,968 /female 11,011,100) 25-54 years: 29.73% (male 15,978,384 /female 16,247,086) 55-64 years: 3.92% (male 2,059,129 /female 2,185,814) 65 years and over: 2.97% (male 1,445,547 /female 1,770,262) (2018 est.) |
Dependency ratios: | total dependency ratio: 82.1 (2015 est.) youth dependency ratio: 75.8 (2015 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 6.3 (2015 est.) potential support ratio: 15.8 (2015 est.) |
Median age: | total: 18 years male: 17.8 years female: 18.2 years (2018 est.) |
Population growth rate: | 2.83% (2018 est.) |
Birth rate: | 36 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Death rate: | 7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Net migration rate: | -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Urbanization: | urban population: 20.8% of total population (2018) rate of urbanization: 4.63% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) |
Major urban areas - population: | 4.4 million ADDIS ABABA (capital) (2018) |
Sex ratio: | 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: 0.98 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2018 est.) Mother's mean age at first birth: 20 years (2016 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 |
Maternal mortality rate: | 353 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
Infant mortality rate: | total: 48.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 55.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) |
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 63 years male: 60.5 years female: 65.5 years (2018 est.) |
Total fertility rate: | 4.91 children born/woman (2018 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate: | 40.1% (2018) |
Physicians density: | 0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2017) |
Hospital bed density: | 0.3 beds/1,000 population (2015) |
Drinking water source: | improved: urban: 93.1% of population rural: 48.6% of population total: 57.3% of population unimproved: urban: 6.9% of population rural: 51.4% of population total: 42.7% of population (2015 est.) |
Sanitation facility access: | improved: urban: 27.2% of population (2015 est.) rural: 28.2% of population (2015 est.) total: 28% of population (2015 est.) unimproved: urban: 72.8% of population (2015 est.) rural: 71.8% of population (2015 est.) total: 72% of population (2015 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.9% (2017 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 610,000 (2017 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 15,000 (2017 est.) |
Obesity - adult prevalence rate: | 4.5% (2016) |
Children under the age of 5 years underweight: | 23.6% (2016) |
Education expenditures: | 4.7% of GDP (2015) |
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.) total population: 49.1% male: 57.2% female: 41.1% (2015 est.) |
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 8 years male: 9 years female: 8 years (2012) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 25.2% male: 17.1% female: 30.9% (2016 est.) |
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Government | |
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Country name: | 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 |
Government type: | federal parliamentary republic |
Capital: | name: Addis Ababa geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name in Amharic means "new flower" and was bestowed on the city in 1889, three years after its founding |
Administrative divisions: | 9 ethnically based regional 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) |
Independence: | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which coalesced in the first century B.C.) |
National holiday: | Derg Downfall Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
Constitution: | 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) |
Legal system: | civil law system |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Executive branch: | chief of state: President SAHLE-WORK Zewde (since 25 October 2018) head of government: Prime Minister ABIY Ahmed (since 2 April 2018); Deputy Prime Minister DEMEKE Mekonnen Hassen (since 29 November 2012); note - Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn (since 21 September 2012) resigned on 15 February 2018 and continued as caretaker until the new prime minister was sworn into office on 2 April 2018 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: SAHLE-WORK Zewde elected president; Parliament vote - 659 (unanimous) note: SAHLE-WORK Zewde is the first female elected head of state in Ethiopia; she is currently the only female president in Africa. Former President Dr. Mulatu TESHOME resigned on 25 October 2018, one year ahead of finishing his six-year term. |
Legislative branch: | description: bicameral Parliament consists of: House of Federation or Yefedereshein Mikir Bete (153 seats; members indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 5-year terms) 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) elections: House of Federation - last held 24 May 2015 (next to be held in 2020) House of People's Representatives - last held on 24 May 2015 (next to be held in 2020) election results: House of Federation - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by coalition/party - NA; composition - men 104, women 49, percent of women 32% House of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by coalition/party - EPRDF 501, SPDP 24, BGPDUP 9, ANDP 8, GPUDM 3, APDO 1, HNL 1; composition - men 335, women 212, percent of women 38.8%; note - total Parliament percent of women 37.3% note: 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 |
Judicial branch: | highest courts: 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 |
Political parties and leaders: | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Taha AHMED] Argoba People Democratic Organization or APDO Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM [Demeke MEKONNEN] Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Party or BGPDUP Blue Party (Semayawi Party) [Solomon TESSEMA, spokesman] Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum or MEDREK or FORUM [Beyene PETROS] (includes ESD-SCUP, OFC, SLM, and UTDS) Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [ABIY Ahmed] (includes ANDM, OPDO, SEPDM, and TPLF) Ethiopian Social Democracy-Sothern Coalition Unity Party or ESD-SCUP Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM Harari National League or HNL [Murad ABDULHADI] Oromo Fderalist Congress or OFC Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO [ABIY Ahmed] Sidama Liberaton Movement or SLM Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement or SEPDM [Muferiat KAMIL] Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF [Meles ZENAWI] Union of Tigraians for Democracy & Sovergnty or UTDS |
International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UN Security Council (temporary), UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
National symbol(s): | Abyssinian lion (traditional), yellow pentagram with five rays of light on a blue field (promoted by current government); national colors: green, yellow, red |
National anthem: | name: "Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia) lyrics/music: DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu note: adopted 1992 |
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Ato FITSUM Arega (since 9 April 2019) 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 |
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael RAYNOR (since 3 October 2017) embassy: Entoto Street, P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa mailing address: P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] 11 130-6000 FAX: [251] 11 124-2401 |
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Economy | |
Ethiopia - the second most populous country in Africa - is a one-party state with a planned economy. For more than a decade before 2016, GDP grew at a rate between 8% and 11% annually – one of the fastest growing states among the 188 IMF member countries. This growth was driven by government investment in infrastructure, as well as sustained progress in the agricultural and service sectors. More than 70% of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP. Ethiopia has the lowest level of income-inequality in Africa and one of the lowest in the world, with a Gini coefficient comparable to that of the Scandinavian countries. Yet despite progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, due both to rapid population growth and a low starting base. Changes in rainfall associated with world-wide weather patterns resulted in the worst drought in 30 years in 2015-16, creating food insecurity for millions of Ethiopians. The state is heavily engaged in the economy. Ongoing infrastructure projects include power production and distribution, roads, rails, airports and industrial parks. Key sectors are state-owned, including telecommunications, banking and insurance, and power distribution. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to tenants. Title rights in urban areas, particularly Addis Ababa, are poorly regulated, and subject to corruption. Ethiopia’s foreign exchange earnings are led by the services sector - primarily the state-run Ethiopian Airlines - followed by exports of several commodities. While coffee remains the largest foreign exchange earner, Ethiopia is diversifying exports, and commodities such as gold, sesame, khat, livestock and horticulture products are becoming increasingly important. Manufacturing represented less than 8% of total exports in 2016, but manufacturing exports should increase in future years due to a growing international presence. The banking, insurance, telecommunications, and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors, but Ethiopia has attracted roughly $8.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), mostly from China, Turkey, India and the EU; US FDI is $567 million. Investment has been primarily in infrastructure, construction, agriculture/horticulture, agricultural processing, textiles, leather and leather products. To support industrialization in sectors where Ethiopia has a comparative advantage, such as textiles and garments, leather goods, and processed agricultural products, Ethiopia plans to increase installed power generation capacity by 8,320 MW, up from a capacity of 2,000 MW, by building three more major dams and expanding to other sources of renewable energy. In 2017, the government devalued the birr by 15% to increase exports and alleviate a chronic foreign currency shortage in the country. | |
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $200.6 billion (2017 est.) $181 billion (2016 est.) $167.6 billion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate): | $80.87 billion (2017 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate: | 10.9% (2017 est.) 8% (2016 est.) 10.4% (2015 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $2,200 (2017 est.) $2,000 (2016 est.) $1,900 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
Gross national saving: | 32.1% of GDP (2017 est.) 32.7% of GDP (2016 est.) 32.4% of GDP (2015 est.) GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 69.6% (2017 est.) government consumption: 10% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 43.5% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: -0.1% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 8.1% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -31.2% (2017 est.) GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 34.8% (2017 est.) industry: 21.6% (2017 est.) services: 43.6% (2017 est.) |
Agriculture - products: | cereals, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Industries: | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, garments, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Industrial production growth rate: | 10.5% (2017 est.) |
Labor force: | 52.82 million (2017 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 72.7% industry: 7.4% services: 19.9% (2013 est.) |
Unemployment rate: | 17.5% (2012 est.) 18% (2011 est.) |
Population below poverty line: | 29.6% (2014 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 25.6% (2005) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 33 (2011) 30 (2000) |
Budget: | revenues: 11.24 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 13.79 billion (2017 est.) |
Taxes and other revenues: | 13.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.) Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
Public debt: | 54.2% of GDP (2017 est.) 53.2% of GDP (2016 est.) |
Fiscal year: | 8 July - 7 July |
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.9% (2017 est.) 7.3% (2016 est.) |
Current account balance: | -$6.551 billion (2017 est.) -$6.574 billion (2016 est.) |
Exports: | $3.23 billion (2017 est.) $2.814 billion (2016 est.) |
Exports - commodities: | coffee (27%, by value), oilseeds (17%), edible vegetables including khat (17%), gold (13%), flowers (7%), live animals (7%), raw leather products (3%), meat products (3%) |
Exports - partners: | Sudan 23.3%, Switzerland 10.2%, China 8.1%, Somalia 6.6%, Netherlands 6.2%, US 4.7%, Germany 4.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6%, UK 4.6% (2017) |
Imports: | $15.59 billion (2017 est.) $14.69 billion (2016 est.) |
Imports - commodities: | machinery and aircraft (14%, by value), metal and metal products, (14%), electrical materials, (13%), petroleum products (12%), motor vehicles, (10%), chemicals and fertilizers (4%) |
Imports - partners: | China 24.1%, Saudi Arabia 10.1%, India 6.4%, Kuwait 5.3%, France 5.2% (2017) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $3.013 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $3.022 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Debt - external: | $26.05 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $24.82 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | (31 December 2009 est.) |
Market value of publicly traded shares: | n/a |
Exchange rates: | birr (ETB) per US dollar - 25 (2017 est.) 21.732 (2016 est.) 21.732 (2015 est.) 21.55 (2014 est.) 19.8 (2013 est.) |
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Energy | |
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Electricity - production: | 11.15 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - consumption: | 9.062 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - exports: | 166 million kWh (2015 est.) |
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - installed generating capacity: | 2.784 million kW (2016 est.) |
Electricity - from fossil fuels: | 3% of total installed capacity (2016 est.) |
Electricity - from nuclear fuels: | 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants: | 86% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Electricity - from other renewable sources: | 11% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - exports: | 0 bbl/day (2015 est.) |
Crude oil - imports: | 0 bbl/day (2015 est.) |
Crude oil - proved reserves: | 428,000 bbl (1 January 2018 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - production: | 0 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - consumption: | 74,000 bbl/day (2016 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - exports: | 0 bbl/day (2015 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - imports: | 69,970 bbl/day (2015 est.) |
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2018 est.) |
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy: | 12.18 million Mt (2017 est.) |
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Communications | |
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Cellular Phones in use: | total subscriptions: 62.617 million subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 59 (2017 est.) |
Telephone system: | general assessment: Ethio Telecom maintains a monopoly over telecommunication services; open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; mobile broadband services via 3G and LTE networks; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service; international Internet bandwidth increased 56% in 2016 to reach 35 Gb/s (2018) domestic: fixed-line subscriptions at 1 per 100 while mobile-cellular stands at 59 per 100; the number of mobile telephones is increasing steadily (2018) 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) |
Broadcast media: | 6 public TV stations broadcasting nationally and 10 public radio broadcasters; 7 private radio stations and 19 community radio stations (2017) |
Internet country code: | .et |
Internet users: | total: 15,731,741 percent of population: 15.4% (July 2016 est.) |
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Transportation | |
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Airports: | 57 (2013) |
Airports (paved runways): | total 17 (2017) over 3,047 m: 3 (2017) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 (2017) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2017) under 914 m: 2 (2017) |
Airports (unpaved runways): | total 40 (2013) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2013) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 (2013) 914 to 1,523 m: 20 (2013) under 914 m: 8 (2013) |
Railways: | total 659 km (Ethiopian segment of the 756 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) (2017) standard gauge: 659 km 1.435-m gauge (2017) note: electric railway with redundant power supplies; under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia and managed by a Chinese contractor |
Roadways: | total 120,171 km (2018) |
Merchant marine: | total 11 by type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 2 (2018) |
Ports and terminals: | Ethiopia is landlocked and uses the ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia |
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Military | |
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Military branches: | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (Ye Ityopya Ayer Hayl, ETAF); note - as of December 2018, a committee was tasked to reestablish a naval force and a special operations command (2019) |
Military service age and obligation: | 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) |
Military expenditures: | 0.67% of GDP (2016) 0.71% of GDP (2015) 0.77% of GDP (2014) 0.81% of GDP (2013) 0.87% of GDP (2012) |
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Transnational Issues | |
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Disputes - International: | 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 and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 173,879 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers), 44,620 (Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2018); 401,594 (South Sudan), 175,961 (Somalia) (2019) IDPs: 2,194,946 (includes conflict- and climate-induced IDPs, excluding unverified estimates from the Amhara region; border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000; ethnic clashes; and ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian military and separatist rebel groups in the Somali and Oromia regions; natural disasters; intercommunal violence; most IDPs live in Sumale state) (2019) |
Illicit drugs: | 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 |
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Source: CIA - The World Factbook