| Land area (sq. km) |
1,000,000.00 |
WDI |
| Arable land (% of land area) |
11.06 |
WDI |
| Population, total |
69,960,840.00 |
WDI |
| Population growth (annual %) |
1.95 |
WDI |
| Population density (people per sq. km) |
69.96 |
WDI |
| Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) |
41.53 (2003) |
WDI/UN/UNICEF |
| Life expectancy at birth, total (years) |
42.48 |
WDI |
| Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) |
110.40 |
WDI |
| Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population)** |
50.0 (2004 est.) |
WDI/CIA/UNICEF |
| Urban population (% of total) |
15.78 |
WDI |
| Ethnic breakdown |
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% |
CIA |
| Religious breakdown |
Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% |
CIA |
| Language |
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English |
CIA |
| Capital City |
Addis Ababa |
CIA |
| Character of government |
federal republic; Administrative Division: 9 ethnically-based states and 2 self-governing administrations; Independence day: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
CIA* |
| Current President/Prime Minister |
President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001) and Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995) |
CIA* |
| Executive branch description |
President as chief of state and Prime Minister as head of department. cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives |
CIA* |
| Legislative branch description |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or upper chamber (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or lower chamber (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote for 5 years) |
CIA* |
| Judicial branch description |
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' |
CIA |
| Women in national parliament (% of total) |
8.00 |
WDI |
| Foreign aid per capita (current US$) |
26.06 |
WDI |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflow (BoP, current US$ bn) ** |
0.55 |
WDI |
| GDP growth (annual %) |
12.30 |
WDI |
| GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$) |
131.69 |
WDI |
| Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) |
3.26 |
WDI |
| Military expenditure (% of GDP) |
3.58 |
WDI/CIA/WRI |
| Military expenditure (% of central government expenditure) |
21.81 (2002) |
WDI/WRI/Dept of State/UNICEF |
| Health expenditure, public (% of GDP) |
3.45 (2003) |
WDI/WRI |
| Education expenditure, public (% of GDP) |
4.59 (2002) |
WDI/WRI |
| Main export |
coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
CIA |
| Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) |
N/A |
WDI/CIA |
| External debt, total (DOD, current US$) |
6,574,099,968.00 |
WDI/CIA |
| Currency |
Birr (BETT) |
CIA |
| Local Currency Rate, per US$ |
8.60 |
CIA |
| Internet users (per 1,000 people) |
1.62 |
WDI/Comp Industry Almanac |
| Mobile phone subscribers (per 1,000 people) |
2.54 |
WDI |
| Personal computers (per 1,000 people) |
3.22 |
WDI |
| Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people) |
6.34 (2003) |
WDI |