Ethiopia
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Geography
Area: 1.1 million sq. km (472,000 sq. mi.); about the size of
Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico combined.
Cities: Capital--Addis Ababa (pop. 5 million). Other cities--Dire
Dawa (237,000), Nazret (189,000), Gondar (163,000), Dessie (142,000),
Mekelle (141,000), Bahir Dar (140,000), Jimma (132,000), Awassa
(104,000).
Terrain: High plateau, mountains, dry lowland plains.
Climate: Temperate in the highlands; hot in the lowlands.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ethiopian(s).
Population (2005 est.): 77 million.
Annual growth rate: 2.7%.
Ethnic groups (est.): Oromo 40%, Amhara 25%, Tigre 7%, Somali
6%, Sidama 9%, Gurage 2%, Wolaita 4%, Afar 4%, other nationalities
3%.
Religions (est.): Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 40%, Sunni Muslim
45-50%, Protestant 5%, remainder indigenous beliefs.
Languages: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Arabic, Guaragigna, Oromigna,
English, Somali.
Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance (elementary) 57%.
Literacy--35%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--97/1,000 live births.
Work force: Agriculture--80%. Industry and commerce--20%.
Government
Type: Federal Republic.
Constitution: Ratified 1994.
Branches: Executive--president, Council of State, Council of Ministers.
Executive power resides with the prime minister. Legislative--bicameral
parliament. Judicial--divided into Federal and Regional Courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 9 regions and 2 special city administrations:
Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.
Political parties: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF), the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the
United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), and other small parties.
Suffrage: Universal starting at age 18.
Central government budget (2004): $2.4 billion.
Defense: $348 million (5.6% of GDP FY 2003).
National holiday: May 28.
Economy
Real GDP (2004): $8.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (2004): 11.6%.
Per capita income (2004): $116.
Average inflation rate (2004): 7%.
Natural resources: Potash, salt, gold, copper, platinum, natural
gas (unexploited).
Agriculture (47% of GDP): Products--coffee, cereals, pulses, oilseeds,
khat, meat, hides and skins. Cultivated land--17%.
Industry (12% of GDP): Types--textiles, processed foods, construction,
cement, and hydroelectric power.
Trade (2004): Exports--$563 million. Imports--$2.1 billion; plus
remittances--official est. $400 million; unofficial est. $400
million.
Fiscal year: July 8-July 7.
GEOGRAPHY
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the
north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia,
on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan.
The country has a high central plateau that varies from 1,800
to 3,000 meters (6,000 ft.-10,000 ft.) above sea level, with some
mountains reaching 4,620 meters (15,158 ft.). Elevation is generally
highest just before the point of descent to the Great Rift Valley,
which splits the plateau diagonally. A number of rivers cross
the plateau--notably the Blue Nile flowing from Lake Tana. The
plateau gradually slopes to the lowlands of the Sudan on the west
and the Somali-inhabited plains to the southeast.
The climate is temperate on the plateau and hot
in the lowlands. At Addis Ababa, which ranges from 2,200 to 2,600
meters (7,000 ft.-8,500 ft.), maximum temperature is 26o C (80o
F) and minimum 4o C (40o F). The weather is usually sunny and
dry with the short (belg) rains occurring February-April and the
big (meher) rains beginning in mid-June and ending in mid-September.
PEOPLE
Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak
a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans
make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are
more than 77 different ethnic groups with their own distinct languages
within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.
In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands, while
Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to
inhabit lowland regions. English is the most widely spoken foreign
language and is taught in all secondary schools. Amharic is the
official language and was the language of primary school instruction
but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as
Oromifa and Tigrinya.
HISTORY
Ethiopia is credited with being the origin of mankind. Bones discovered
in eastern Ethiopia date back 3.2 million years. Ethiopia is the
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in
the world. Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century
B.C. describes ancient Ethiopia in his writings. The Old Testament
of the Bible records the Queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem.
According to legend, Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba, founded the Ethiopian Empire. Missionaries from
Egypt and Syria introduced Christianity in the fourth century
A.D. Following the rise of Islam in the seventh century, Ethiopia
was gradually cut off from European Christendom. The Portuguese
established contact with Ethiopia in 1493, primarily to strengthen
their influence over the Indian Ocean and to convert Ethiopia
to Roman Catholicism. There followed a century of conflict between
pro- and anti-Catholic factions, resulting in the expulsion of
all foreign missionaries in the 1630s. This period of bitter religious
conflict contributed to hostility toward foreign Christians and
Europeans, which persisted into the 20th century and was a factor
in Ethiopia's isolation until the mid-19th century.
Under the Emperors Theodore II (1855-68), Johannes
IV (1872-89), and Menelik II (1889-1913), the kingdom was consolidated
and began to emerge from its medieval isolation. When Menelik
II died, his grandson, Lij Iyassu, succeeded to the throne but
soon lost support because of his Muslim ties. The Christian nobility
deposed him in 1916, and Menelik's daughter, Zewditu, was made
empress. Her cousin, Ras Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), was made
regent and successor to the throne. In 1930, after the empress
died, the regent, adopting the throne name Haile Selassie, was
crowned emperor. His reign was interrupted in 1936 when Italian
Fascist forces invaded and occupied Ethiopia. The emperor was
forced into exile in England despite his plea to the League of
Nations for intervention. Five years later, British and Ethiopian
forces defeated the Italians, and the emperor returned to the
throne.
After a period of civil unrest, which began in February
1974, the aging Haile Selassie I was deposed on September 12,
1974, and a provisional administrative council of soldiers, known
as the Derg ("committee") seized power from the emperor
and installed a government, which was socialist in name and military
in style. The Derg summarily executed 59 members of the royal
family and ministers and generals of the emperor's government;
Emperor Haile Selassie was strangled in the basement of his palace
on August 22, 1975.
Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam assumed power as
head of state and Derg chairman, after having his two predecessors
killed. Mengistu's years in office were marked by a totalitarian-style
government and the country's massive militarization, financed
by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and assisted by Cuba.
From 1977 through early 1978 thousands of suspected enemies of
the Derg were tortured and/or killed in a purge called the "red
terror." Communism was officially adopted during the late
1970s and early 1980s with the promulgation of a Soviet-style
constitution, Politburo, and the creation of the Workers' Party
of Ethiopia (WPE).
In December 1976, an Ethiopian delegation in Moscow
signed a military assistance agreement with the Soviet Union.
The following April, Ethiopia abrogated its military assistance
agreement with the United States and expelled the American military
missions. In July 1977, sensing the disarray in Ethiopia, Somalia
attacked across the Ogaden Desert in pursuit of its irredentist
claims to the ethnic Somali areas of Ethiopia. Ethiopian forces
were driven back deep inside their own frontier but, with the
assistance of a massive Soviet airlift of arms and Cuban combat
forces, they stemmed the attack. The major Somali regular units
were forced out of the Ogaden in March 1978. Twenty years later,
development in the Somali region of Ethiopia lagged.
The Derg's collapse was hastened by droughts and
famine, as well as by insurrections, particularly in the northern
regions of Tigray and Eritrea. In 1989, the Tigrayan People's
Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition
movements to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF). In May 1991, EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa.
Mengistu fled the country for asylum in Zimbabwe, where he still
resides.
In July 1991, the EPRDF, the Oromo Liberation Front
(OLF), and others established the Transitional Government of Ethiopia
(TGE) which was comprised of an 87-member Council of Representatives
and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional
constitution. In June 1992 the OLF withdrew from the government;
in March 1993, members of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic
Coalition left the government.
In May 1991, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
(EPLF), led by Isaias Afwerki, assumed control of Eritrea and
established a provisional government. This provisional government
independently administered Eritrea until April 23-25, 1993, when
Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-monitored
free and fair referendum. Eritrea was with Ethiopia’s consent
declared independent on April 27, and the United States recognized
its independence on April 28, 1993.
In Ethiopia, President Meles Zenawi and members
of the TGE pledged to oversee the formation of a multi-party democracy.
The election for a 547-member constituent assembly was held in
June 1994, and this assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections
for Ethiopia's first popularly chosen national parliament and
regional legislatures were held in May and June 1995. Most opposition
parties chose to boycott these elections, ensuring a landslide
victory for the EPRDF. International and non-governmental observers
concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate
had they chosen to do so. The Government of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Ethiopia is a federal republic under the 1994 constitution. The
executive branch includes a president, Council of State, and Council
of Ministers. Executive power resides with the prime minister.
There is a bicameral parliament; national legislative elections
were held in 2005. The judicial branch comprises federal and regional
courts.
Political parties include the Ethiopian People's
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the Coalition for Unity
and Democracy (CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF),
and other small parties. Suffrage is universal at age 18.
In 2003, Ethiopia continued its transition from
a unitary to a federal system of government. The EPRDF-led government
of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has promoted a policy of ethnic
federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically
based authorities. Ethiopia today has 9 semi-autonomous administrative
regions and two special city administrations (Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa), which have the power to raise their own revenues.
Under the present government, Ethiopians enjoy wider, albeit circumscribed,
political freedom than ever before in Ethiopia’s history.
Principal Government Officials
President--Girma Wolde-Giorgis
Prime Minister--Meles Zenawi
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture--Addisu
Legesse
Minister of National Defense--Kuma Demeksa
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Seyoum Mesfin
Ethiopia maintains an embassy in the U.S. at 3506
International Drive, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-364-1200)
headed by Ambassador Samuel Assefa. It also maintains a UN mission
in New York and consulates in Los Angeles, Seattle (honorary),
and Houston (honorary).
ECONOMY
The current government has embarked on a cautious program of economic
reform, including privatization of state enterprises and rationalization
of government regulation. While the process is still ongoing,
so far the reforms have attracted only meager foreign investment.
The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, which
contributes 47% to GNP and more than 80% of exports, and employs
85% of the population. The major agricultural export crop is coffee,
providing 35% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings, down from
65% a decade ago because of the slump in coffee prices since the
mid-1990s. Other traditional major agricultural exports are hides
and skins, pulses, oilseeds, and the traditional "khat,"
a leafy shrub that has psychotropic qualities when chewed. Sugar
and gold production has also become important in recent years.
Ethiopia's agriculture is plagued by periodic drought,
soil degradation caused by inappropriate agricultural practices
and overgrazing, deforestation, high population density, undeveloped
water resources, and poor transport infrastructure, making it
difficult and expensive to get goods to market. Yet agriculture
is the country's most promising resource. Potential exists for
self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock,
flowers, grains, oilseeds, sugar, vegetables, and fruits.
Gold, marble, limestone, and small amounts of tantalum
are mined in Ethiopia. Other resources with potential for commercial
development include large potash deposits, natural gas, iron ore,
and possibly oil and geothermal energy. Although Ethiopia has
good hydroelectric resources, which power most of its manufacturing
sector, it is totally dependent on imports for its oil. A landlocked
country, Ethiopia has relied on the port of Djibouti since the
1998-2000 border war with Eritrea. Ethiopia is connected with
the port of Djibouti by road and rail for international trade.
Of the 23,812 kilometers of all-weather roads in Ethiopia, 15%
are asphalt. Mountainous terrain and the lack of good roads and
sufficient vehicles make land transportation difficult and expensive.
However, the government-owned airline’s reputation is excellent.
Ethiopian Airlines serves 38 domestic airfields and has 42 international
destinations.
Dependent on a few vulnerable crops for its foreign
exchange earnings and reliant on imported oil, Ethiopia lacks
sufficient foreign exchange earnings. The financially conservative
government has taken measures to solve this problem, including
stringent import controls and sharply reduced subsidies on retail
gasoline prices. Nevertheless, the largely subsistence economy
is incapable of meeting the budget requirements for drought relief,
an ambitious development plan, and indispensable imports such
as oil. The gap has largely been covered through foreign assistance
inflows.
DEFENSE
The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) numbers about 200,000
personnel, which makes it one of the largest militaries in Africa.
During the 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, the ENDF mobilized
strength reached approximately 350,000. Since the end of the war,
some 150,000 soldiers have been demobilized. The ENDF continues
a transition from its roots as a guerrilla army to an all-volunteer
professional military organization with the aid of the U.S. and
other countries. Training in peacekeeping operations, professional
military education, military training management, counter-terrorism
operations, and military medicine are among the major programs
sponsored by the United States. Ethiopia now has two peacekeeping
contingents in Burundi and Liberia.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Ethiopia was relatively isolated from major movements of world
politics until Italian invasions in 1895 and 1935. Since World
War II, it has played an active role in world and African affairs.
Ethiopia was a charter member of the United Nations and took part
in UN operations in Korea in 1951 and the Congo in 1960. Former
Emperor Haile Selassie was a founder of the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union (AU). Addis Ababa
also hosts the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Ethiopia is
also a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development,
a Horn of Africa regional grouping.
Although nominally a member of the Non-Aligned Movement,
after the 1974 revolution, Ethiopia moved into a close relationship
with the Soviet Union and its allies and supported their international
policies and positions until the change of government in 1991.
Today, Ethiopia has very good relations with the United States
and the West, especially in responding to regional instability
and supporting war on terrorism and, increasingly, through economic
involvement.
Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea remained tense
and unresolved. Following a brutal 1998-2000 border war in which
tens of thousands died on both sides, the two countries signed
a peace agreement in December 2000. A five-member independent
international commission--Eritrean Ethiopia Boundary Commission
(EEBC)--issued a decision in April 2002 and follow-up observations
in March 2003 delimiting the border between the two countries,
but thus far the parties have not agreed to final demarcation.
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) peacekeeping
mission patrols a 25-kilometer-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ)
within Eritrea separating the two countries; a few minor incidents
of violence have occurred, all between local villagers and militia
or armed opposition groups supported by the other side. Both countries
insist they will not instigate fighting, but both also remain
prepared for any eventuality. Regarding its neighbor Somalia,
the lack of central government and factional fighting in Somalia
contributes to tensions along the boundaries of the two countries.
Ethiopia has recently entered into a loose tripartite (nonmilitary)
cooperation with Sudan and Yemen.
U.S.-ETHIOPIA RELATIONS
U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903 and were good
throughout the period prior to the Italian occupation in 1935.
After World War II, these ties strengthened on the basis of a
September 1951 treaty of amity and economic relations. In 1953,
two agreements were signed: a mutual defense assistance agreement,
under which the United States agreed to furnish military equipment
and training, and an accord regularizing the operations of a U.S.
communication facility at Asmara. Through fiscal year 1978, the
United States provided Ethiopia with $282 million in military
assistance and $366 million in economic assistance in agriculture,
education, public health, and transportation. A Peace Corps program
emphasized education, and U.S. Information Service educational
and cultural exchanges were numerous.
After Ethiopia's revolution, the bilateral relationship
began to cool due to the Derg's linking with international communism
and U.S. revulsion at the Derg's human rights abuses. The United
States rebuffed Ethiopia's request for increased military assistance
to intensify its fight against the Eritrean secessionist movement
and to repel the Somali invasion. The International Security and
Development Act of 1985 prohibited all U.S. economic assistance
to Ethiopia with the exception of humanitarian disaster and emergency
relief. In July 1980, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia was recalled
at the request of the Ethiopian Government, and the U.S. Embassy
in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Embassy in the United States were
headed by Charges d'Affaires.
With the downfall of the Mengistu regime, U.S.-Ethiopian
relations improved dramatically. Legislative restrictions on assistance
to Ethiopia other than humanitarian assistance were lifted. Diplomatic
relations were upgraded to the ambassadorial level in 1992. Total
U.S. government assistance, including food aid, between 1991 and
2003 was $2.3 billion. During the severe drought year of FY 2003,
the U.S. provided a record $553.1 million in assistance, of which
$471.7 million was food aid. U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia
is focused on reducing famine vulnerability, hunger, and poverty
and emphasizes economic, governance, and social sector policy
reforms. Some military training funds, including training in such
issues as the laws of war and observance of human rights, also
are provided.
Principal U.S. Officials
Charge d’Affaires--Vicki Huddleston
Deputy Chief of Mission--Janet Wilgus
Chiefs of Sections
Management--Brian Moran
Consular--Daniel Gershator
Political/Economic--Kevin Sullivan
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)--William Hammink
Defense Attaché Officer--Col. Richard Orth
Public Affairs--Anthony Fisher
The address and telephone/fax numbers for the U.S.
Embassy in Ethiopia are P.O. Box 1014, Entoto Street, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia (tel: 251/11/517-40-00; fax: 251/11/517-40-01). The U.S.
Embassy's Washington address is: 2030 Addis Ababa Place, Washington,
DC, 20521-2030. Embassy website: http://addisababa.usembassy.gov/.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political
disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends
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Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau
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202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings
also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page:
http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication
series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning
a safe trip abroad, are on the Internet and hard copies can be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling
abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services
at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays,
call 202-647-4000.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact
center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT
(1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators
for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information
with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site
at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health
advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and
advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries.
A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel
(HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements,
currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items
of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure
from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this
country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing
in this publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling
in dangerous areas are encouraged to register their travel via
the State Department’s travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov
or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of
their passports. This may help family members contact you in case
of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov,
the Department of State web site provides timely, global access
to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background
Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key
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Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related
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of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international
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