Released by the Office of East African Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs.
Official Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
PROFILE
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. 2.3 million). Other
cities--Dire Dawa (180,000), Harar (138,000), Dessie (105,000),
Nazret (100,000), Bahir Dar (95,000), Awassa (90,000)
Terrain: High plateau, mountains, dry lowland plains.
Climate: Temperate in the highlands; hot in the lowlands.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ethiopian(s).
Population (1997 est.): 58 million.
Annual growth rate: 3%.
Ethnic groups (est.): Oromo 35%, Amhara 30%, Tigre 6%-8%, Somali
6%.
Religions: Muslim 40%, Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 45%-50%, Protestant
5%, indigenous beliefs, remainder.
Languages: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Oromifa, English, Somali.
Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance (elementary)
46%. Literacy--25%. Health: Infant mortality rate-112/1,000
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: 10 regions.
Political parties: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF) and 50 other registered parties, most of which are
small and ethnically based.
Suffrage: Universal.
Central government budget: $1.76 billion.
Defense: $128 million (7.3%).
National holiday: May 28.
Flag: Green, yellow and red horizontal stripes from top to bottom,
with gold five-pointed star and rays on a blue circular background.
Economy
Real GDP: $6.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (last 5 years): 8%.
Per capita income: $110.
Average inflation rate (last 3 years): 3.5%.
Natural resources: Potash, salt, gold, copper, platinum, natural
gas (unexploited).
Agriculture (40% of GDP): Products--coffee, cereals, pulses,
oilseeds, khat, meat, hides and skins. Cultivated land--67%.
Industry (13.7% of GDP): Types--textiles, processed foods,
construction, cement, hydroelectric power.
Trade (1996): Exports--$783 million. Imports--$1.65
billion.
Official exchange rate (Feb. 1998): 6.92 Ethiopian Birr=U.S.$1.
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 (6,000-10,000 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 rising 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 (7,000-8,500 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 80 different ethnic groups 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 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 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 hegemony 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 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. He was deposed in 1916 by the Christian nobility, 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, the
Italians were defeated by British and Ethiopian forces, 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 far inside their own frontiers 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, the Somali region of Ethiopia remains under-developed and insecure.
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 and was granted 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 declared independent on April 27, and the U.S. recognized Eritrean independence on April 28.
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. The EPRDF-led government of Prime
Minister Meles has promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving
significant powers to regional, ethnically based authorities.
Ethiopia today has 10 semi-autonomous administrative regions which
have the power to raise and spend their own revenues. Under the
present government, Ethiopians enjoy greater political participation
and freer debate than ever before in their history, although some
fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, are in practice
somewhat circumscribed.
Principal Government Officials
President--Negasso Gidada
Prime Minister--Meles Zenawi
Deputy Prime Minister--Kassu Ilala
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense--Tefera
Waluwa
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Seyoum Mesfin
Ethiopia maintains an embassy in the U.S. at 2134 Kalorama Road,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202/234-2281) headed by Ambassador
Berhane Gebre-Christos. A separate trade and commercial office
is located at 1800 K Street, N.W., Suite 824, Washington, D.C.
20006 (tel. 202/452-1272).
DEFENSE
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) has approximately
100,000 personnel, which makes it one of the largest military
forces in Africa. This number is significantly smaller than the
250,000 plus troops that existed during the Derg regime that fell
to the rebel forces in 1991. The U.S. was Ethiopia's major arms
supplier from the end of World War until 1977, when Ethiopia began
receiving massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union. These
shipments, including armored patrol boats, transport and jet fighter
aircraft, helicopters, tanks, trucks, missiles, artillery, and
small arms have incurred an unserviced Ethiopian debt to the former
Soviet Union estimated at more than $3.5 billion. Since the early
1990s, the ENDF has been in transition from a rebel force to a
professional military organization with the aid of the U.S. and
other countries. Training in demining, humanitarian and peace-keeping
operations, professional military education, and military justice
are among the major programs sponsored by the U.S.
ECONOMY
The current government has embarked on a program of economic reform, including privatization of state enterprises and rationalization of government regulation. While the process is still ongoing, the reforms have begun to attract much-needed foreign investment.
The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, which contributes 45% to GNP and more than 80% of exports and employs 85% of the population. The major agricultural export crop is coffee, providing 65%-75% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings. Other traditional major agricultural exports are hides and skins, pulses, oilseeds, and the traditional "khat," a leafy shrub which has psychotropic qualities when chewed.
Ethiopia's agriculture is plagued by periodic drought, soil degradation caused by overgrazing, deforestation, high population density, and poor infrastructure, making it difficult and expensive to get goods to market. Yet it is the country's most promising resource. A potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock, grains, 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 uses the seaports of Assab and Massawa in Eritrea. Ethiopia also uses the port of Djibouti, connected to Addis Ababa by rail, for international trade. Of the 23,812 kilometers of Ethiopia's all-weather roads, 15% are asphalt. Mountainous terrain and the lack of good roads and sufficient vehicles make land transportation difficult. However, the government-owned airline 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. 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 supporting high
military expenditures, drought relief, an ambitious development
plan, and indispensable imports such as oil and, therefore, must
depend on foreign assistance.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Ethiopia was relatively isolated from major movements of world politics until the 1895 and 1935 Italian invasions. 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). Addis Ababa is the host capital for the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the OAU.
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 U.S. and the
West, especially in responding to regional instability and, increasingly,
through economic involvement. Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea
are extremely close, reflecting the shared revolutionary struggle
against the Derg. Continuing instability along Ethiopia's borders
with Sudan and Somalia contributes to tension with the National
Islamic Front regime in Sudan and several groups in Somalia.
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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 United States Information Service educational and cultural exchanges were numerous.
After Ethiopia's revolution, the bilateral relationship began to cool as a result of the Derg's identification with international communism and U.S. revulsion at the Derg's murderous means of maintaining itself in power. The U.S. 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 U.S. 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. During
FY 1997, the U.S. provided about $77.2 million in assistance to
Ethiopia, of which $39.9 million was food aid ($6.4 million in
emergency food assistance). U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia
is conditional on progress in democracy and human rights as well
as economic reforms. Some in military training funds, including
training in such issues as the laws of war and observance of human
rights, also are provided. The Peace Corps returned about 3 years
ago to Ethiopia where, in the past, it had one of its largest
programs. In FY 1999, the Peace Corps expects to have more than
100 volunteers in-country.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--David Shinn
Deputy Chief of Mission--Martin G. Brennan
Chiefs of Sections
Administrative--Bernie Gross
Consular-- Raymond Baca
Political/Economic-- Herb Thomas
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)--Keith Brown
Defense Attache Officer--Lt. Col. Kevin Kenny
U.S. Information Service (USIS)--Michael Seidenstricker
Peace Corps Director--Lis A. Doane
The address and telephone/fax numbers for the U.S. Embassy in
Ethiopia are
P.O. Box 1014, Entoto Street, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tel: 251/1/550-666;
fax: 251/1/552-191.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov and the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). To access CABB, dial the modem number: (301-946-4400 (it will accommodate up to 33,600 bps), set terminal communications program to N-8-1 (no parity, 8 bits, 1 stop bit); and terminal emulation to VT100. The login is travel and the password is info (Note: Lower case is required). The CABB also carries international security information from the Overseas Security Advisory Council and Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Consular Affairs Trips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; 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.
Passport Services information can be obtained by calling the 24-hour, 7-day a week automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648)
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives 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 at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information:
Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; Country Commercial Guides; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN's World Wide Web site is at http://www.state.gov.
U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published annually by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512-1800 or fax (202) 512-2250.
National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information.
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