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| Ethiopia | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
The most valuable cash crop in Ethiopia was coffee. During the l970s, coffee exports accounted for 50 to 60 % of the total value of all exports, although coffee's share dropped to 25 % as a result of the economic dislocation following the l974 revolution. By l976 coffee exports had recovered, and in the five years ending in l988/89, coffee accounted for about 63 % of the value of exports. Domestically, coffee contributed about 20 % of the government's revenue. around 25 % of Ethiopia's population depended directly or indirectly on coffee for its livelihood.
Ethiopia's coffee is almost exclusively of the arabica type, which grows best at altitudes between l,000 and 2,000 meters. Coffee grows wild in many parts of the nation, although most Ethiopian coffee is produced in the southern and western regions of Kefa, Sidamo, Ilubabor, Gamo Gofa, Welega, and Harerge.
Most of the around 7 million equines (horses, mules, and donkeys) are used to transport produce and other agricultural goods. Camels also play a key role as pack animals in areas below l,500 meters in elevation. Additionally, camels offer pastoralists in those areas with milk and meat. Poultry farming is widely practiced in Ethiopia; almost every farmstead keeps some poultry for consumption and for cash sale. The highest concentration of poultry is in Shewa, in central Welo, and in northwestern Tigray. Individual poultry farms supply eggs and meat to urban dwellers. By 1990 the state had begun to develop large poultry farms, mostly around Addis Ababa, to supply hotels and government institutions.
| Ethiopia | Communications | Back to Top |
Open wire and microwave radio relay system sufficient for government use
domestic: open wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; two domestic satellites offer the national trunk service
international: open wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
| Ethiopia | Culture | Back to Top |
The Ethiopian people are ethnically heterogeneous, comprising more than 100 groups, each speaking a dialect of one of more than seventy languages. The Amhara, Oromo, and Tigray are the largest groups. With the accession of Menelik II to the throne in 1889, the ruling class consisted primarily of the Amhara, a predominantly Christian group that constitutes about 30 % of the population and occupies the central highlands. The Oromo, who constitute about 40 % of the population, are half Orthodox Christians and half Muslims whose orthodox alliance with the Amhara in Shewa included participation in public administration and the military. Predominantly Christian, the Tigray occupy the far northern highlands and make up 12 to 15 % of the population. They or their Eritrean neighbors had been battling the government for nearly three decades and by 1991 had scored many battlefield successes.
Declaring education one of its priorities, the PMAC expanded the education system at the primary level, particularly in small towns and rural areas, which had never had modern schools during the imperial era. The new policy relocated control and operation of primary and secondary schools to the subregion (awraja) level, where officials reoriented curricula to emphasize agriculture, handicrafts, commercial training, and other practical subjects. The regime also embarked on a national literacy campaign.
The regime's health policy included development of rural health services, promotion of community involvement, selfreliance in health activities, and emphasis on the prevention and control of disease. As with education, the PMAC decentralized health care administration to the local level as part of its effort to promote community involvement. contempt an emphasis on rural health services, less than a third of the total population had effective health coverage in mid-1991.
| Ethiopia | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Ground Forces, Air Force, Police, Militia
Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the freedom of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession and ships which belonged to the former Ethiopian Navy and based at Djibouti have been sold
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 14,537,884 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 7,581,815 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 703,625 (2001 est.)
| Ethiopia | International Disputes | Back to Top |
Most of the southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two year war with Eritrea, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary; dispute over alignment of boundary with Eritrea led to armed conflict in 1998; a peace accord signed in December 2000 provides for UN-assisted arbitration and demarcation of the border
| Ethiopia | Economy | Back to Top |
Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest nations, with a per-capita gross domestic product (GDP of $100 a year in 1999). The economy of Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on the earnings of the agricultural sector. Participation by most of the people in the monetary economy is limited; much trading is conducted by barter in local markets. The around annual budget in 1993 included $630 million in revenues and $968 million in expenditures.
Ethiopia's most promising resource is its agricultural land. Although soil erosion, overgrazing, and deforestation have seriously damaged the plateaus, nearly half the potentially cultivable land is still available for future use. Most of the reserve land is located in parts of the nation that have favourable climatic conditions for intensive agriculture. In addition, Ethiopia is the valuableest nation in Africa in number of farm animal, including cattle. With better management of grazing lands and breeding, farm animal raising has the potential to meet the demands of internal as well as export markets.
Ethiopia's economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural area suffers from frequent times of drought and poor cultivation practices, and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy, and Ethiopia earned $267 million in 1999 by exporting 105,000 metric tons. According to current estimates, coffee contributes 10% of Ethiopia's GDP. More than 15 million people (25% of the population) derive their livelihood from the coffee sector. Other exports include live animals, hides, gold, and qat. The war with Eritrea forced the government to spend scarce resources on the military and to scale back ambitious development plans. Foreign investment has declined remarkablely. Government taxes imposed in late 1999 to raise money for the war depressed an already weak economy. The war forced the government to improve roads and other parts of the previously neglected infrastructure, but only certain regions of the nation benefited. Recovery from the war is mostly contingent on natural factors. A drought has continued into the end of 2000 and food relief is expected to be needed through mid-2001 at least. Ethiopia may obtain Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief by the end of the year.
| Ethiopia | Education | Back to Top |
Education in Ethiopia was oriented toward religious learning until after World War II, when the government began to emphasize secular learning as a means to achieve social mobility and national development. By 1974, contempt efforts by the government to improve the situation, less than 10 % of the total population was literate. There were several reasons for this deficiency of progress. According to Teshome G. Wagaw, a former educator at Haile Selassie I University, the primary failure of the education system was its inability to "satisfy the aspirations of the majority of the people and to prepare in any sufficient way those passing through its ranks." Teshome described the system as elitist, inflexible, and unresponsive to local needs. He was equally critical of the distribution of educational opportunity, which favored a few administrative regions and urban centers at the expense of a predominantly illiterate rural population. The education system also suffered from insufficient financing.
In the early 1990s, the problems Ethiopians faced in making their education system responsive to national needs remained formidable. Social and political change had affected many orthodox elements of national life, but it was too soon to predict what effect the changes would have on the progress of education.
Education has expanded considerably since 1952, when only 4 % of the adult population was literate. Since then, many schools have been opened, and several teacher-training schools have graduated numerous teachers. A major program to increase literacy was started in 1979; but by 2001 only 55 % of the adult population could read and write. Although free education exists from primary school through the college level, regular school facilities are able to enroll only 43 % of the children of school age. In the 1995 school year 3.4 million students attended primary schools run by the government and religious groups.
| Ethiopia | Government | Back to Top |
Party and Government: Until 1974 revolution governed by an imperial regime whose last emperor was Haile Selassie I. Following revolution, a socialist state based on principles of Marxism-Leninism, led by Workers' Party of Ethiopia. Constitution published in 1987 created People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In theory, National Shengo (National Assembly) highest organ of political power, but real power centered in hands of Mengistu Haile Mariam, president and commander in chief of armed forces.
In May 1991, Mengistu regime beaten by coalition of forces led by Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A National Conference in July 1991 created Transitional Government of Ethiopia, consisting of a president and a prime minister, a seventeen-member Council of Ministers, and an eighty-seven-member Council of Representatives. Transitional government to last not longer than two-and-one-half years. Meles Zenawi, former head of EPRDF, elected president by Council of Representatives. In mid-1993 new constitution being drafted to come into force not later than early 1994.
After May 1991, Eritrea controlled by Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). EPLF set up Provisional Government of Eritrea under its leader, Issaias Afwerki. In a vote held April 23-25, 1993, more than 98 % of registered voters favored freedom from Ethiopia. In May 1993, Government of Eritrea was formed, consisting of a National Assembly with supreme authority, a State Council with administrator powers, and a president. Issaias Afwerki elected president by National Assembly. New government to last not longer than four years, during which democratic constitution is to be written.
Judicial System: As of mid-1993, new judicial system in process of being accomplished.
Administrative Divisions: In mid-1991 Transitional Government of Ethiopia created twelve autonomous regions on basis of ethnic identity, plus two multiethnic chartered cities (Addis Ababa and Harer). Each region broken into districts (weredas), the basic unit of administration. On June 21, 1992, elections were held to fill seats on wereda and regional councils.
Foreign Relations: In late 1980s, Ethiopia relied on Soviet Union, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Israel, and various East European countries for military assistance and on Western nations for humanitarian aid and small amounts of economic assistance. After mid-1991, transitional government reoriented Ethiopia's foreign relations from East to West, establishing warm relations with United States and western Europe and seeking substantial economic aid from Western countries and World Bank. Ethiopia also active in attempts to mediate the civil war in Somalia.
| Ethiopia | History | Back to Top |
Modern Ethiopia is the product of many millennia of interaction among peoples in and around the Ethiopian highlands region. From the earliest times, these groups combined to produce a culture that at any given time differed markedly from that of surrounding peoples. The evolution of this early "Ethiopian" culture was driven by a mixture of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.
One of the most remarkable determines on the formation and evolution of culture in northern Ethiopia consisted of migrants from Southwest Arabia. They arrived during the first millennium B.C. and brought Semitic speech, writing, and a typical stone-building tradition to northern Ethiopia. They seem to have contributed directly to the rise of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading state that prospered in the first centuries of the Christian era and that united the shores of the southern Red Sea commercially and at times politically. It was an Aksumite king who accepted Christianity in the mid-fourth century, a religion that the Aksumites bequeathed to their successors along with their concept of an empire-state under centralized rulership.
Misery mounted throughout Ethiopia in the 1980s. Recurrent drought and famine, made worse in the north by virtual civil war, took an enormous human toll, necessitating the infusion of massive amounts of international humanitarian aid. The insurgencies in Eritrea, Tigray, and other regions intensified until by the late 1980s they threatened the stability of the regime. Drought, economic mismanagement, and the financial burdens of war ravaged the economy. At the same time, democratic reform in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union threatened to isolate the revolutionary government politically, militarily, and economically from its allies.
| Ethiopia | Introduction | Back to Top |
Ethiopia, formerly Abyssinia, now the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, republic in eastern Africa, bordered on the north-east by Eritrea and Djibouti, on the east and south-east by Somalia, on the south-west by Kenya, and on the west and north-west by Sudan. The area of the nation is 1,128,176 sq km (435,606 sq mi). The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.
Official Name -Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia| Ethiopia | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Ethiopia | Languages | Back to Top |
Of the 70 or more languages spoken in Ethiopia, most belong to the Semitic and Cushitic branches of the Afro-Asiatic family (see African Languages). The language of the Ethiopian church liturgy, Gecez, gave rise to the Semitic cluster of languages: Amharic, Tigrinya, and Tigre. Amharic, the nation’s official language, is spoken by more than half of the population. English and Arabic are also spoken by many people.
| Ethiopia | Life | Back to Top |
There have been few studies concerning women in Ethiopia, but many observers have commented on the physical hardship that Ethiopian women experience throughout their lives. Such hardship involves carrying loads over long distances, grinding corn manually, working in the homestead, raising children, and cooking. Ethiopian women traditionally have suffered sociocultural and economic discrimination and have had fewer opportunities than men for personal growth, education, and employment. Even the civil code affirmed the woman's inferior position, and such rights as ownership of property and inheritance varied from one ethnic group to another.
As in other orthodox societies, a woman's worth is measured in terms of her role as a mother and wife. Over 85 % of Ethiopian women reside in rural areas, where peasant families are engaged primarily in subsistence agriculture. Rural women are integrated into the rural economy, which is basically labor intensive and which exacts a heavy physical toll on all, including children. The revolution had little impact on the lives of rural women. Land reform did not change their subordinate status, which was based on deep-rooted orthodox values and beliefs. An improvement in economic conditions would improve the standard of living of women, but real change would require a transformation of the attitudes of governments and men regarding women.
On a more positive note, the Mengistu regime could claim success in increasing literacy among women. The enrollment of women in primary and secondary schools increased from about 32 % in 1974/75 to 39 % in 1985/86, although the rate of enrollment of urban women far exceeded the rate for rural women.
| Ethiopia | organization | Back to Top |
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO.
| Ethiopia | People | Back to Top |
Ethiopia's population was around at 51.7 million in 1990. According to the nation's only census, conducted in 1984, Ethiopia's population was about 42 million. But the census was far from comprehensive. The rural areas of Eritrea and Tigray were excluded because of hostilities. In addition, the population in the southern parts of Bale and Harerge could only be around because of the prevalence of pastoral nomadism.
The 1984 census revealed that Ethiopia's population was about 89 % rural, and this %age did not appear to have changed by the late 1980s. This portion included many nomadic and seminomadic peoples. The Ethiopian population always has been predominantly rural, engaging in sedentary agricultural activities such as the cultivation of crops and farm animal-raising in the highlands. In the lowlands, the main activities traditionally have been subsistence farming by seminomadic groups and seasonal grazing of farm animal by nomadic people.
Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic, and Nilotic. The Semitic languages are spoken primarily in the northern and central parts of the nation; they include Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Amharic, Gurage, and Hareri. Ge'ez, the ancient language of the Aksumite empire, is used today only for religious writings and worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Tigrinya is native to the northern province of Tigray. Amharic is one of the nation's principal languages and is native to the central and northwestern provinces. Gurage and Hareri are spoken by comparatively few people in the south and east.
| Ethiopia | Politics | Back to Top |
Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [leader NA]; All-Amhara People's Organization or AAPO [KEGNAZ MATCH Neguea Tibeb]; Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM [TEFERA Walwa]; Bench Madji People's Democratic Organization or BMPDO [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [leader NA]; Coalition of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy or CAFPD [Kifle TIGNEH Abate and BEYENE Petros]; Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party or EDUP [Lt. Gen. TESFAYE Gebre Kidan]; Ethiopian National Democratic Party or ENDP [FEKADU Gedamu]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of the ANDM, OPDO, and TPLF); Gedeyo People's Revolutionary Democratic Movement or GPRDF [leader NA]; Gurange Nationalities Democratic Movement or GNDM [leader NA]; Kafa Shaka People's Democratic Organization or KSPDO [leader NA]; Kembata, Alabaa, and Tembaro or KAT [leader NA]; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa Gudina]; Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO [KUMA Demeksa]; Sidama People's Democratic Organization or SPDO [leader NA]; South Omo People's Democratic Movement or SOPDM [leader NA]; Tigrai People's Liberation Front or TPLF [MELES Zenawi]; Walayta, Gamo, Gofa, Dawro, Konta People's Democratic Organization or WGGPDO [leader NA]; dozens of small parties.
| Ethiopia | Provinces | Back to Top |
9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader): Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa); Afar; Amara, Binshangul Gumuz; Dire Dawa*; Gambela Hizboch; Hareri Hizb; Oromiya; Sumale; Tigray; YeDebub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region).
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| Ethiopia | Time | Back to Top |
| Ethiopia | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Ethiopia Birr | United States Dollars |
| 1.00 ETB | 0.118906 USD |
| 8.41000 ETB | 1 USD |
| Countries Currency Unit | USD/Unit | Units/USD | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0129554 | 77.1877 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.341293 | 2.93004 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.533413 | 1.87472 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.0632609 | 15.8076 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.502513 | 1.99000 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.430318 | 2.32386 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1.42399 | 0.702251 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.447293 | 2.23567 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 0.627606 | 1.59336 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00152392 | 656.202 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.120813 | 8.27726 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1.49883 | 0.667186 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0281883 | 35.4758 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.117155 | 8.53568 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.370370 | 2.70000 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.217271 | 4.60255 |
| EUR | Euro | 0.870489 | 1.14878 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.447227 | 2.23600 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.146406 | 6.83034 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.132705 | 7.53550 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.445074 | 2.24682 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 301.977 | 0.00331151 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00255463 | 391.447 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.128215 | 7.79939 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00358416 | 279.006 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.00999868 | 100.013 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0205205 | 48.7319 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000102055 | 9,798.61 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.10529 | 0.904738 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.212386 | 4.70841 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000449570 | 2,224.35 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0210041 | 47.6099 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.00754183 | 132.594 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1.41057 | 0.708931 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.000660937 | 1,513.00 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.263330 | 3.79751 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.111007 | 9.00848 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.440474 | 2.27028 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.113022 | 8.84780 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.395011 | 2.53158 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0166945 | 59.9000 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0196386 | 50.9202 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 510.962 | 0.00195709 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.243488 | 4.10699 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00434198 | 230.310 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000303433 | 32,956.21 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0321342 | 31.1195 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.266668 | 3.74998 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4.65692 | 0.214734 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.542540 | 1.84318 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0208441 | 47.9751 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.0883340 | 11.3207 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.000759354 | 1,316.91 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00523174 | 191.141 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1.24862 | 0.800882 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00384615 | 260.000 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.0964189 | 10.3714 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 0.593789 | 1.68410 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0286531 | 34.9002 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0230087 | 43.4619 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.163399 | 6.12000 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000000763622 | 1,309,549.07 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00108696 | 920.000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000239866 | 4,169.00 |
| Ethiopia : Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Ethiopia : Population growth rate | 2.7% |
| Ethiopia : Birth rate | 44.68 births/1,000 population |
| Ethiopia : Death rate | 17.84 deaths/1,000 population |
| Ethiopia : People living with HIV/AIDS | 3 million |
| Ethiopia : Independence | N/A |
| Ethiopia : National holiday | 28 May |
| Ethiopia : Constitution | December 1994 |
| Ethiopia : GDP | purchasing power parity - $39.2 billion |
| Ethiopia : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $600 |
| Ethiopia : Electricity - consumption | 1.511 billion kWh |
| Ethiopia : Exports | $460 million coffee, gold, leather products, oilseeds, qat |
| Ethiopia : Imports | $1.25 billion food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products |
| Ethiopia : Telephones | 157,000 |
| Ethiopia : Mobile cellular | 4,000 |
| Ethiopia : Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2 |
| Ethiopia : Radios | 11.75 million |
| Ethiopia : Television broadcast stations | 25 |
| Ethiopia : Televisions | 320,000 |
| Ethiopia : Internet country code | .et |
| Ethiopia : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 |
| Ethiopia : Internet users | 7,200 |
| Ethiopia : Railways | 681 km |
| Ethiopia : Highways | 24,145 km |
| Ethiopia : Waterways | N/A |
| Ethiopia : Pipelines | N/A |
| Ethiopia : Ports and harbors | N/A |
| Ethiopia : Merchant marine | 11 ships |
| Ethiopia : Airports | 86 |
| Ethiopia : Heliports | N/A |
| Ethiopia : Military branches | Ground Forces, Air Force, Police, Militia |
| Ethiopia : Military expenditures | $138 million |