| Location | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
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| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
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| Zone | Africa |
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| Area | total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km |
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| 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 |
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| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
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| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
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| Climate | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
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| Terrain | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
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| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
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| Natural resources | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
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| Irrigated land | 0 km (landlocked) |
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| Natural hazards | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
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Environment -
current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
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Environment -
international 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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| 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 |
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