|
|
| Overview | People | Geography | Economy | Government | Communications | Transport | Military | Map |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Flag |  |
| 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) |
| Population | 85,237,338 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 (July 2009 est.) |
| GMT | +3 |
| Location | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia see map |
| Area | total: 1,127,127 sq km land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
| Ethnic groups | Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census) |
| Religions | Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census) |
| Languages | Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census) |
| Government type | federal republic |
| National holiday | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
| Constitution | ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
| Legal system | based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Background | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained 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 border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission in November 2007 remotely demarcated the border by geographical coordinates, but final demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
| Internet country code | .et |
