Photos of Ethiopia




A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia did not accept them and maintained troops in previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. This intransigence resulted in years of heightened tension between the two countries. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. Following a wave of popular dissent and anti-government protest that began in 2015, HAILEMARIAM resigned in February 2018 and ABIY Ahmed Ali took office in April 2018 as Ethiopia's first ethnic Oromo prime minister. In June 2018, ABIY announced Ethiopia would accept the border ruling of 2000, prompting rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea that was marked with a peace agreement in July 2018 and a reopening of the border in September 2018. In November 2019, Ethiopia's nearly 30-year ethnic-based ruling coalition - the EPRDF - merged into a single unity party called the Prosperity Party, however, one of the four constituent parties (the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front or TPLF) refused to join.




Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 38 00 E


total: 1,104,300 sq km

land: 1,096,570 sq km

water: 7,730 sq km


country comparison to the world: 28

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 5,925 km



0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)


tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation


high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley


highest point: Ras Dejen 4,550 m

lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m

mean elevation: 1,330 m

Natural resources


Land use

agricultural land: 36.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 15.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.)

forest: 12.2% (2018 est.)

other: 51.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

2,900 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

122 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards



Environment - international agreements



Geography - note


note 2: three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean

People and Society


110,871,031 (July 2021 est.)


country comparison to the world: 12


noun: Ethiopian(s)

adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic groups

Oromo 34.9%, Amhara (Amara) 27.9%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 7.3%, Sidama 4.1%, Welaita 3%, Gurage 2.8%, Somali (Somalie) 2.7%, Hadiya 2.2%, Afar (Affar) 0.6%, other 12.6% (2016 est.)



printed major-language sample:
የአለም እውነታ መጽሐፍ፣ ለመሠረታዊ መረጃ እጅግ አስፈላጊ የሆነ ምንጭ። (Amharic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.


Ethiopian Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 0.8% (2016 est.)

Demographic profile




Age structure

0-14 years: 39.81% (male 21,657,152/female 21,381,628)

15-24 years: 19.47% (male 10,506,144/female 10,542,128)

25-54 years: 32.92% (male 17,720,540/female 17,867,298)

55-64 years: 4.42% (male 2,350,606/female 2,433,319)

65 years and over: 3.38% (male 1,676,478/female 1,977,857) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 76.8

youth dependency ratio: 70.6

elderly dependency ratio: 6.3

potential support ratio: 16 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 19.8 years

male: 19.6 years

female: 20.1 years (2020 est.)

country comparison to the world: 197

Birth rate

31.03 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

country comparison to the world: 29

Death rate

5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

country comparison to the world: 169

Net migration rate

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

country comparison to the world: 107

Population distribution



urban population: 22.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

5.006 million ADDIS ABABA (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female


Mother's mean age at first birth

20 years (2016 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality rate

401 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 26

Infant mortality rate

total: 34.62 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 39.56 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

country comparison to the world: 47

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 67.9 years

male: 65.79 years

female: 70.06 years (2021 est.)

country comparison to the world: 182

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97% of population

rural: 61.7% of population

total: 68.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 3% of population

rural: 38.3% of population

total: 31.1% of population (2017 est.)

Physicians density

0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

0.3 beds/1,000 population (2016)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 49.7% of population

rural: 5.7% of population

total: 14.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 50.3% of population

rural: 94.3% of population

total: 85.3% of population (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)


vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis


definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 51.8%

male: 57.2%

female: 44.4% (2017)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 9 years

male: 8 years

female: 8 years (2012)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 25.2%

male: 17.1%

female: 30.9% (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 54


Environment - current issues


Environment - international agreements



Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 34.36 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 14.87 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 114.21 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 810 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 51.1 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 9.687 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

122 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)


tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Land use

agricultural land: 36.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 15.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.)

forest: 12.2% (2018 est.)

other: 51.5% (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

country comparison to the world: 96


urban population: 22.2% of total population (2021)


Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)


vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

Food insecurity

widespread lack of access: due to civil conflict - more than 16 million people were estimated to be severely food insecure in the May−June 2021 period; particular concerns exist for the Tigray Region and neighboring zones of Amhara and Afar regions, where 5.5 million people (about 60 percent of the population) are estimated to face severe food insecurity due to the conflict which started in November 2020 (2021)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 6,532,787 tons (2015 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 parliamentary republic


name: Addis Ababa

geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E



Administrative divisions

10 ethnically based regional 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), Sidama, Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples)



National holiday





Legal system

civil law system

International law organization participation



citizenship by birth: no


dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years


18 years of age; universal

Executive branch




elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); snap election held on 25 October 2018 due to resignation of President MULATA Teshome (next election postponed by Prime Minister ABIY due to the COVID-19 pandemic); prime minister designated by the majority party following legislative elections



Legislative branch

description: bicameral Parliament consists of:

elections: House of Federation - last held 24 May 2015 (next originally scheduled on 29 August 2020 but postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
House of People's Representatives - last held on 24 May 2015 (next election to be held June 2021)



Judicial branch




Political parties and leaders

Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Taha AHMED]
Argoba People Democratic Organization or APDO
Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Party or BGPDUP
Ethiopia Citizens for Social Justice or ECSJ Party (formed in May 2019 from 7 other parties, including Patriotic Genbot 7, Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), All Ethiopian Democratic Party (AEDP), Semayawi Party, New Generation Party, Gambella Regional Movement (GRM), Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Party [Berhanu Negu])
Prosperity Party or PP [ABIY Ahmed] (created in November 2019 from member parties of the former Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF, which included the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM),  Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement  (SEPDM), plus other ERPRF allies
Ethiopian Social Democracy-Southern Coalition Unity Party or ESD-SCUP
Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM
Harari National League or HNL [Murad ABDULHADI]
Oromo Fderalist Congress or OFC
Sidama Liberaton Movement or SLM
Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP
Union of Tigraians for Democracy & Sovergnty or UTDS
Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF [DEBRETSION Gebremichael] (note: de-registered by Ethiopian electoral board in Jan 2021)
Tigray Independence Party [Girmay BERHE] (2020)

International organization participation


Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador FISTUM Arega Gebrekidan (since 9 April 2019)

chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200

FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195

consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Seattle

consulate(s): Houston, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission David RENZ (since January 2021)


telephone: [251] 11 130-6000

embassy: Entoto Street, P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa

mailing address: P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa

FAX: [251] 11 124-2401

Flag description



National symbol(s)


National anthem


lyrics/music: DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu

note: adopted 1992

This is an audio of the National Anthem for Ethiopia. The national anthem is generally a patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition. Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not.:


Economic overview







Real GDP growth rate

10.9% (2017 est.)

8% (2016 est.)

10.4% (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 4

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

15.7% (2019 est.)

13.9% (2018 est.)

10.8% (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 217

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: B (2014)

Moody's rating: B2 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: B (2014)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$248.972 billion (2019 est.)

$229.755 billion (2018 est.)

$215.094 billion (2017 est.)

note: data are in 2010 dollars

country comparison to the world: 62

GDP (official exchange rate)

$92.154 billion (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$2,221 (2019 est.)

$2,104 (2018 est.)

$2,022 (2017 est.)

note: data are in 2010 dollars

country comparison to the world: 210

Gross national saving

33.2% of GDP (2018 est.)

30.6% of GDP (2017 est.)

32.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 27

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 34.8% (2017 est.)

industry: 21.6% (2017 est.)

services: 43.6% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 69.6% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 10% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 43.5% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: -0.1% (2017 est.)



Ease of Doing Business Index scores

Overall score: 48 (2020)

Starting a Business score: 71.7 (2020)

Trading score: 56 (2020)

Enforcement score: 62.8 (2020)

Agricultural products




Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 72.7%

industry: 7.4%

services: 19.9% (2013 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 4.1%

highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)


revenues: 11.24 billion (2017 est.)

expenditures: 13.79 billion (2017 est.)

Public debt

54.2% of GDP (2017 est.)

53.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 83

Fiscal year

8 July - 7 July

Current account balance

-$6.551 billion (2017 est.)

-$6.574 billion (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 186


$3.23 billion (2017 est.)

$2.814 billion (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 132

Exports - partners

China 17%, United States 16%, United Arab Emirates 8%, Saudi Arabia 6%, South Korea 5%, Germany 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

coffee, sesame seeds, gold, cut flowers, zinc (2019)


$15.59 billion (2017 est.)

$14.69 billion (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 92

Imports - partners

China 27%, India 9%, United Arab Emirates 9%, France 9%, United Kingdom 7% (2019)

Imports - commodities

aircraft, gas turbines, packaged medicines, electric filament, cars (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$3.013 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$3.022 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 110

Debt - external

$27.27 billion (2019 est.)

$26.269 billion (2018 est.)

country comparison to the world: 87

Exchange rates

birr (ETB) per US dollar -

25 (2017 est.)

21.732 (2016 est.)

21.732 (2015 est.)

21.55 (2014 est.)

19.8 (2013 est.)


Electricity access

electrification - total population: 47% (2019)

electrification - urban areas: 96% (2019)

electrification - rural areas: 34% (2019)


Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 1,095,946

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.04 (2019 est.)

country comparison to the world: 73

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 38,147,361

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 36.2 (2019 est.)

country comparison to the world: 40

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

telecom market challenged by political factionalism and reorganization of ruling party; despite some gains in access, Ethiopia remains one of the least-connected countries in the world; state-owned telecom held a monopoly over services until 2019 when government approved legislation and opened the market to competition and foreign investment; new expansion of LTE services; government reduced tariffs leading to increases in data and voice traffic; government launched mobile app as part of e-government initiative to build smart city; Huawei provides infrastructure to government operator and built data center in Addis Ababa; government disrupted service during political crises; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2020)


domestic: fixed-line subscriptions at 1 per 100 while mobile-cellular stands at 36 per 100; the number of mobile telephones is increasing steadily (2019)

international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) (2016)


Broadcast media


Internet users

total: 19,118,470

percent of population: 18.62% (July 2018 est.)

country comparison to the world: 37

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 580,120

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 82


National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 75

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 11,501,244 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 2,089,280,000 mt-km (2018)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 17 (2017)

over 3,047 m: 3 (2017)

2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 (2017)

1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2017)

under 914 m: 2 (2017)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 40 (2013)

2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2013)

1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 (2013)

914 to 1,523 m: 20 (2013)

under 914 m: 8 (2013)



standard gauge: 659 km 1.435-m gauge (2017)


country comparison to the world: 105

Merchant marine

total: 11

by type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 2 (2020)

country comparison to the world: 154

Ports and terminals


Military and Security

Military and security forces




Military expenditures

0.7% of GDP (2019 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2018 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2017 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 144

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 140,000 active duty troops, including about 3,000 Air Force personnel (no personnel numbers available for the newly-established Navy) (2020)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the ENDF's inventory is comprised mostly of Soviet-era equipment from the 1970s; since 2010, Russia and Ukraine are the leading suppliers of largely second-hand weapons and equipment to the ENDF, followed by China and Hungary; Ethiopia has a modest industrial defense base centered on small arms and production of armored vehicles (2020)

Military deployments

estimated 10,000 Somalia (4,500 for AMISOM); 800 Sudan (UNAMID); 3,200 Sudan (UNISFA); 2,100 South Sudan (UNMISS) (Jan 2021)

Military service age and obligation


Military - note

each of the nine states has a regional and/or a "special" paramilitary security force that report to regional civilian authorities; local militias operate across the country in loose and varying coordination with these regional security and police forces, the Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP), and the Ethiopian military; the EFP reports to the Ministry of Peace, which was created in October of 2018

Ethiopia faces considerable ethnic violence in some regions, including Oromo, where the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has conducted numerous attacks targeting the Amhara ethnic group; the OLA, assessed to number in the low thousands, broke off from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after ABIY took office in 2018

in November 2020, the Ethiopian Government launched military operations against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – an ethnically-based political entity that runs the Tigray regional government and had its own paramilitary security forces; the TPLF had increasingly challenged the authority of the Federal Government; the TPLF’s security forces date back to the 1980s when it led the guerrilla movement that brought the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition to power; during the fighting, the Ethiopian Government allowed ethnic Amhara and Afar militias to attack the TLPF (now merged into the Tigray Defense Forces, TDF); in addition, it invited Eritrean military forces to join in the fighting; Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces, as well as ethnic militias, have all been accused of committing atrocities against Tigrayan civilians during the fighting, which continued into 2021


Terrorist group(s)

al-Shabaab; IRGC/Qods Force


Transnational Issues

Disputes - international

Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia; Ethiopia's construction of a large dam (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) on the Blue Nile since 2011 has become a focal point of relations with Egypt and Sudan; as of 2020, four years of three-way talks between the three capitals over operating the dam and filling its reservoir had made little progress; Ethiopia began filling the dam in July 2020

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 372,961 (South Sudan), 211,092 (Somalia), 172,768 (Eritrea), 45,648 (Sudan) (2021)


Illicit drugs
