About Ethiopia

FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

The state is located in northeast Africa (in the Horn of Africa). Borders on Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. It has no access to the sea.

Territory - 1.104 million square km. The total borders length is 5328 km.

Population - about 120 million people, urbanization rate is 22.7%. Annual population growth is 2.6%, which is the average for sub-Saharan Africa. The average population density is 115 people. per 1 sq. km.

There are about 80 nationalities and ethnic groups that speak 80 languages and dialects of the Semitic-Hamitic and Cushite groups. The most numerous of them, according to the 2007 census, are Oromo (34.5%), Amhara (26.9%), Somalis (6.2%), Tigrians (6.1%), Sidamo (4 %), Gurage (2.5%), Wolaita (2.3%), Afar (1.7%).

The official language is Amharic (in accordance with the Constitution, it has the status of a working language); English is the most common European language. In the regions, the languages of the titular nationalities are mainly used in paperwork and legal proceedings, as well as in the primary education system. 

The main religions are Monophysite Christianity, Catholicism, Protestant movements of Christianity - about 63% of the population (such movements as the Pentecostal Church and Jehovah's Witnesses are widespread); Islam - mainly Sunni (about 34% of the population) and traditional religious cults (about 2.5% of the population).

Administrative and territorial structure -  eleven regions formed primarily on ethnic lines: Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela, Harari, Oromia, Somalia, Tigray, Southern nations, nationalities and peoples, Sidama and South-West Ethiopia Region. Two cities have the status of cities of federal significance, equal to the level of the region - Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.

The capital is the city of Addis Ababa (more than 5 million people).

The currency is the Ethiopian birr (as of April 26, 2023, 1 US dollar = 54.02 EBT, 1 euro = 59.03 EBT).

National holiday - Victory Day of Democratic Forces - May 28 (celebrated since 1991).

The state system is a federal republic.

The form of government is a parliamentary republic.

The head of state is the president (currently  - Sahlework Zewde), elected by the parliament. The Prime Minister is Abiy Ahmed. He took up this post on April 2, 2018, and was re-elected for a term of 5 years on October 4, 2021. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs - Demeke Mekonnen.

Parliament consists of two independent structures - the House of People's Representatives (547 deputies, elected for 5 years by direct vote of the population), vested with legislative power (speaker - Tagesse Chaffo), and the House of Federation (112 deputies, elected by regional councils), which is responsible for the interpretation of the Constitution, decision-making in accordance with the right of nations to self-determination, etc. (speaker - Agegnehu Teshager).

Ruling party - the Prosperity Party, created in 2019, replaced the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which had been in power for 28 years.

Armed forces - more than 162 thousand people.

Socio-economic situation.

Ethiopia belongs to the category of the least developed countries in the world.

However, according to the World Bank, over the past 15 years, average annual GDP growth has been 9.5% (one of the highest rates of economic growth in Africa), which allows the country's leadership to plan for Ethiopia to join the group of countries with average global income per capita approximately by 2025. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and military conflict in Tigray, GDP growth rates fell to 6.4% in 2022. However, Ethiopian authorities expect the country's economy to grow by 7.5% by July 2023.

Ethiopia's GDP in FY 2021/22 amounted to 126.7 billion US dollars. Average annual inflation reached 30% versus 20.6% in FY2020/21. According to statistics from the National Bank of Ethiopia, in FY 2021/22 the structure of the Ethiopian economy as a percentage of GDP was as follows: industry - 29%, agriculture - 32%, services - 39%. Foreign trade turnover in FY 2020/21 g. - 27.68 billion US dollars (exports - about 8.52 billion US dollars, imports - about 19.16 billion US dollars).

The basis of the economy is agriculture, which provides over 90% of foreign exchange earnings and where 85% of the working-age population are employed. The country grows coffee, cereals, oilseeds, legumes, flowers, produces meat, skins and leather. In livestock breeding cattle, as well as sheep, goats, and camels, predominate. The industry provides about 10% of export earnings. The main industries are leather and footwear, textile, food, and construction.

Transport. There are three international airports (Addis Ababa, Dire-Dawa, Bahr-Dar). A modern railway has been built connecting Addis Ababa with the capital of the neighboring state of Djibouti. The length of asphalt and dirt roads is over 144 thousand km. With the support of the EU, China, Japan, South Korea and other countries, Ethiopia is actively building new roads.

International trade. In the field of foreign trade, the government is taking measures to increase exports and diversify them. However, the foreign trade balance remains negative. In FY 2021/22 The trade deficit amounted to $14 billion. More than 40% of exports go to European countries, less than a third to the Middle and Far East, and about a quarter to Africa. Oil and oil products, engineering products, metal and rolled metal products, mineral fertilizers, food, medicines, etc. are imported. The main trading partners are China, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, USA, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Djibouti, Belgium, Malaysia , Japan.

Education. Primary education enrollment varies from 15% (in the Afar and Somalia regions) to 80% (Addis Ababa). There are 32 thousand primary and secondary schools, 45 public and 30 private higher educational institutions in the country. The adult literacy rate among women is 44.42%, among men - 59.24%.

Healthcare. 46% of the population have access to basic health care services. In the country there is 1 hospital bed per 2.5 thousand people, 1 doctor per 13 thousand people. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, gastrointestinal infections of various types, meningitis, and hepatitis are common in the country. According to the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, as of 2022, the number of HIV-infected people in Ethiopia is 640 thousand, but according to independent expert estimates, their number exceeds more than a million people.