int'l long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa.
Ethiopia does not operate Daylight-Saving Time.
(pop. 3 million)
Largest Cities:
Bahir Dar (800,000), Gondar (750,000), Mekelle (444,000), Dessie (400,000), Adama (Nazret, 340,000), Hawassa (Awassa, 320,000), Dire Dawa (290,000)
Government:
Federal parliamentary democracy.
A new constitution was adopted in 1995.
Transparency: Rank 94 (out of 180 countries); Score 38, on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Ethiopia ranks between
Brazil and
Kazakhstan in the corruption perception index.
Geography:
Location: Horn of Africa bordered by Sudan on the west, Somalia and Djibouti
on the east, Eritrea on the north and Kenya on the south.
Area: 1.1 million km² (440 000 sq. mi.), about twice the size of Kenya, France,
or Texas.
Terrain: Rugged mountains, flat-topped high plateaus, deep river canyons, rolling
plains, and dry low lands.
Climate: Temperate in the highlands; tropical in the lowlands; dry season
from October through May; wet season from June to September.
People:
Nationality: Noun and adjective: Ethiopian(s)
Population: 114 million (2020)
Ethnic groups (est.): comprised of seventy-eight nations of which the Amhara and
the Oromo constitute the majority, Oromo 35%, Amhara 30%, Tigre 6%-8%, Somali
6%
Religions: Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 45%-50%, Muslim 40%, Protestant 5%, Animic
Languages: Amharic
(official), Afan Oromo, Tigrinya, Gurage, Somali, Arabic, and about 80 other local
languages. English (primary foreign language taught in schools)
Ethiopian alphabet: Geèz
Natural resources: Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural
gas, hydropower.
Agriculture - products: Cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes,
qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats.
Industries: Food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing,
cement.
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%,
USA 4.7%,
Germany 4.7%,
Saudi Arabia 4.6%,
UK 4.6% (2017)
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)
Currency: Ethiopian Birr (ETB)