Facts and Figures
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE)
Federal with multi-party system
Head of State:
President: Mrs. Sahle-Work Zewede
Head of Government:
Prime Minister: Dr. Aby Ahmed
There are nine regional states and two city administrations.
Addis Ababa, Adama, Bahir Dar, Dessie, Gondar, Harar, Hawassa, Jimma, Mekele and Dire Dawa
Addis Ababa; which is also seat of the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), among others
1’14 million km2
513’000 km2 (45%)
34’200 km2 (3%)
Ethiopia has an elevated central plateau varying in height from 2’000 to 3’000 m above sea level. In the North and centre, there are some 25 mountains whose peaks reach over 4’000m.
The most famous river is the Blue Nile or Abay, which flows a distance of 1’450 km from its source to join the White Nile in Khartoum.
About 90 per cent of the population earn their living from the land, mainly as subsistence agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports are coffee, oil seeds, flowers, vegetables, sugar as well as foodstuffs for animals. There is also a thriving livestock sector with an annual growth rate: 10%.
GDP per capita:
USD 550 (2012/13)
Ethiopia is located at the northeastern part of Africa extending 3° to 15° north of the equator and 33° to 48° east of the Greenwich Meridian. Ethiopia enjoys a unique location between Africa, the Middle East and Asia
There are two major seasons encompassing dry and wet season. The dry season prevails from October to May. The wet season runs from June to September. Much of Ethiopia has a surprisingly cool climate by African standards due to its elevation
Ethiopia’s population is estimated around 85 million, making it second most populated country in Africa. Ethiopia is composed of about 83 ethnic groups. Based on the their linguistics, they be divided into Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilotic Saharan.
Major religions in the country are Christianity and Islam. But there are a number of traditional religions as well. One prominent feature of Ethiopia is religious tolerance that exists among different religious groups.
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with 83 spoken languages and over 200 dialects; Amharic is the working language of the Federal Government. Oromiffa and Tigrinya are other languages widely spoken in the country. English is a medium of instruction in elementary and secondary schools as well as higher educational institutions. It is widely spoken, particularly in business transactions.
Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar which divides the year into 12 months. The remaining 5 or six days in a leap year, constitute the short 13th month known as “Pagume”. The calendar is seven years behind the Western Gregorian Calendar, with the Ethiopian New Year falling on 11th of September.