Population:

73,053,286
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)

Median age:

total: 17.75 years
male: 17.64 years
female: 17.85 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.36% (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 95.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 85.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic groups:

Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Religions:

Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%

Languages:

Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

Country name:

conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia
local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
local short form: Ityop'iya
former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa
abbreviation: FDRE

Government type:

federal republic

Capital:

Addis Ababa

Administrative divisions:

9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples)

Independence:

oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

National holiday:

National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

Constitution:

ratified December 1994, effective 22 August 1995

Legal system:

currently transitional mix of national and regional courts

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995)
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
elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term; election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held October 2007); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections
election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100%

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$59.93 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.5% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 40.1%
industry: 12.7%
services: 47.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%, government and services 12% (1985)

Agriculture - products:

cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes, qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats

Industries:

food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Currency (code):

birr (ETB)

Exchange rates:

birr per US dollar - 8.72 (2005), 8.68 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank

Fiscal year:

8 July - 7 July

Airports:

83 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 68
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 22 (2005 est.)

Railways:

total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2004)