Ethiopia Location:
Physical. Ethiopia is located in Eastern Africa west of Somalia. It spans an area roughly twice the size of Texas. Ethiopia’s climate varies greatly depending on changes in elevation and landscape, but heavy rainfall and humidity can generally be found in southern regions decreasing as you travel north. The landlocked terrain consists of a high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley. Natural resources include small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash and natural gas.
Ethiopia Geography:
Area: 435,071 square miles
Capital: Addis Ababa (pop 2,753,000)
Environmental concerns: deforestation; over grazing; soil erosion; desertification
Geographical features: landlocked high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic variation
Ethiopia People:
People. 67.7 million people reside in Ethiopia. Ethiopians speak Amharic (at one time the official language), Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English, Arabic, and Italian. Ethiopians exhibit a diverse ethnic makeup including Oromo (40%) Amhara and Tigrean (32%) and Sidamo (9%). The religious beliefs and practices of citizens there can be categorized into four main branches: Muslim (45-50%) Ethiopian Orthodox Christian (35-40%) animist (12%) and other.
67,700,000 people; 40% Oromo; 32% Amhara and Tigre; 9% Sidamo
Annual growth rate: 2.64%
Major languages are Amharic; Tigrinya; Oromo; Somali; Arabic; Italian; English
Religions: Muslim (40-50%); Ethiopian Orthodox Christian (35%-40%); animist (12%)
Ethiopia Government:
Government. Political instability and lack of government attention and support for agriculture has reduced Ethiopia from breadbasket to famine-ridden. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to power since 1991, initially as an armed movement fighting to liberate Ethiopia from a repressive military dictatorship. In 1992, there was an internal division of the EPRDF where some members were expelled. In 1994 a newly elected national parliament is in place with a new Constitution, a Tigrean dominated government came to power. There will be elections in May 2005.
Ethiopia is a multiethnic state. Since the late 1800's, the dominant group has been the Amharas, resented by Tigrean and other ethnic groups such as the Afars, Oromo and Somalis and other groups known as southern nationalities. In the last 30 years, movements fighting for ethno-regional autonomy have emerged.
The former northern coastal province of Eritrea was a special case. In the late 19th century until WW II, it was in the hands of Italy. After the war, it was integrated into Ethiopia where it remained until 1993 when it achieve full independence following an armed struggle.
Ethiopia is a federal republic and is the oldest independent nation in Africa (at least 2000 years)
President Girma Woldegiorgis is head of state
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front is the major political party (but there are many others)
Universal suffrage at 18
Ethiopia Communication:
Communication and transportation
232,000 main telephone lines
20,000 Internet users (2002)
17,016 miles of highway
425 miles of railroad
86 airfields
66,000 motor vehicles
Ethiopia Economy:
Economy. Wracked by a civil war from 1974 - 1991, continuous fighting displaced millions of people. The problems of this forced migration were compounded by drought and starvation. The struggle for independence by Eritrea in the early 1990s and a border war with Eritrea in the late 1990's compromised the country’s access to the sea. Statistics show that 64% of the population live below the poverty line. Ninety percent of the population depends on agriculture and as mentioned above, lack of government support for agriculture has caused the current economic state.
Currency: birrs
Per capita GDP: $700
GDP: $ 46 billion
GDP growth rate: 7.3%
Inflation rate: 6.8%
Labor force: 80% agriculture; 12% government and services; 8% industry
Ethiopia More Information:
www.ethiopians.com
www.ethiopianembassy.org
www.ethiopianonline.net
www.ethiopianspokes.net
www.ethiopiadaily.com
www.sas.upenn.edu | 
