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Location: Eastern Africa .gif)
Capital: Addis Ababa
Population (2011): 90,873,739
Surface area: 1,104,300 sq km
Currency: Birr
GDP per capita (2009): US $ 345
Historical background:
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission remotely demarcated the border by geographical coordinates, but final demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.
Economy – overview:
Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost 45% of GDP, and 85% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF forgave Ethiopia's debt. The global economic downturn led to balance of payments pressures, partially alleviated by recent emergency funding from the IMF. While GDP growth has remained high, per capita income is among the lowest in the world.
Human Development Index ranking (2010): 157 out of 169
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (2009): US $ 3,825 million
Top Three Donors of gross ODA (2008-2009 average):
IDA, United States, EU Institutions
Total External Debt (2010): US $ 5.67 billion
HIPC Position (2011):Completion Point achieved
United Nations Membership date: 13 November 1945
New York Mission:
Address: Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations
866 Second Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017
Telephone: (212) 421-1830
Telefax: (646) 756-4690
e-mail: ethiopia@un.int
Correspondence: English
National holiday: 28 May
Sources:
Updated October 2011
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