chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and
federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members chosen by state
assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's
Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing
legislation) (547 seats; members directly elected by popular vote
from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 23 May 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 499,
SPDP 24, BGPDP 9, ANDP 8, GPUDM 3, HNL 1, FORUM 1, APDO 1,
independent 1
Judicial branch:
Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the
Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and
appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other
federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's
Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal
Judicial Administrative Council)
Political parties and leaders:
Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Mohammed KEDIR]; Arena
Tigray; Argoba People's Democratic Organization or APDO; Benishangul
Gumuz People's Democratic Party or BGPDP [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition
for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP; Ethiopian Federal Democatic
Forum or FORUM (a UDJ-led 8-party alliance established for the 2010
parliamentary elections); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front or EPRDF; Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic
Movement or GPUDM [Umod UBONG]; Gurage Nationalities' Democratic
Movement or GNDM; Harari National League or HNL [Murad ABDULHADI];
Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Oromo
People's Congress or OPC [IMERERA Gudina]; Somali Democratic
Alliance Forces or SODAF; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP;
United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; Unity
for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Birtukan MEDEKSA, currently
imprisoned]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National
Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN,
UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Tesfaye
YILMA Sabo
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200
FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: [251] 11-517-40-00
FAX: [251] 11-517-40-01
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red, with a
yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles
between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands;
green represents hope and the fertility of the land, yellow
symbolizes justice and harmony, while red stands for sacrifice and
heroism in the defense of the land; the blue of the disk symbolizes
peace and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the
nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia
note: Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the
three main colors of her flag (adopted ca. 1895) were so often
adopted by other African countries upon independence that they
became known as the Pan-African colors; the emblem in the center of
the current flag was added in 1996
National anthem:
name: "Whedefit Gesgeshi Woude Henate Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear
Mother Ethiopia)
lyrics/music: DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu
note: adopted 1992
Economy ::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 inome is among the lowest
in the world.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$84.02 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
$78.52 billion (2009 est.)
$72.24 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$30.94 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
8.7% (2009 est.)
11.6% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 214
$900 (2009 est.)
$900 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42.9%
industry: 13.7%
services: 43.4% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
37.9 million (2007)
country comparison to the world: 17
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 85%
industry: 5%
services: 10% (2009 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
38.7% (FY05/06 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30 (2000)
country comparison to the world: 112
40 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):
25.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
Public debt:
39.3% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
35.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
8.5% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA%
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
8% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 129
7% (31 December 2006)
Stock of narrow money:
$4.764 billion (31 December 2010 est)
country comparison to the world: 91
$4.972 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$8.248 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
$8.641 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$8.661 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
$9.292 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat,
cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Industries:
food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals
processing, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
9.5% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
Electricity - production:
3.46 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
Electricity - consumption:
3.13 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
Oil - consumption:
38,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 197
Oil - imports:
33,590 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
Oil - proved reserves:
430,000 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 198
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 187
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 182
Natural gas - proved reserves:
24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 74
Current account balance:
-$2.232 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
-$1.996 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$1.729 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
$1.636 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds
Exports - partners:
China 10.87%, Germany 9.75%, Saudi Arabia 7.39%, US 7.21%,
Netherlands 6.38%, Switzerland 5.33%, Sudan 4.35%, Belgium 4% (2009)
Imports:
$7.517 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
$6.946 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals,
machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles
Imports - partners:
China 14.73%, Saudi Arabia 8.41%, India 7.65%, US 4.3% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.88 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
$1.781 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.289 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
$3.621 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
birr (ETB) per US dollar - 14.4 (2010), 11.7776 (2009), 9.57 (2008),
8.96 (2007), 8.69 (2006)
Communications ::Ethiopia
Telephones - main lines in use:
915,100 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 82
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.052 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 103
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate telephone system with the Ethiopian
Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) maintaining a monopoly over
telecommunication services; open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio
communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic
satellites provide the national trunk service
domestic: the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is
increasing from a small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular
teledensity is only about 5 per 100 persons
international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti;
microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) (2009)
Broadcast media:
1 public TV broadcast station broadcasting nationally and 1 public
radio broadcaster with stations in each of the 13 administrative
districts; a few commercial radio stations and roughly a dozen
community radio stations (2009)
Internet country code:
.et
Internet hosts:
151 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 200
Internet users:
447,300 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 119
Transportation ::Ethiopia
Airports:
61 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 79
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 44
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 7 (2010)
Railways:
total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti
railroad)
country comparison to the world: 106
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is
largely inoperable (2008)
Roadways:
total: 36,469 km
country comparison to the world: 94
paved: 6,980 km
unpaved: 29,489 km (2004)
Merchant marine:
total: 9
country comparison to the world: 118
by type: cargo 8, roll on/roll off 1 (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Ethiopia is landlocked and uses ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and
Berbera in Somalia
Military ::Ethiopia
Military branches:
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian
Air Force (ETAF) (2010)
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the
secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in
Eritrean possession
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory
military service, but the military can conduct call-ups when
necessary and compliance is compulsory (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 18,485,269
females age 16-49: 19,145,307 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 11,466,713
females age 16-49: 12,444,706 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 934,523
female: 947,103 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.2% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 124
Transnational Issues ::Ethiopia
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
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 66,980 (Sudan); 16,576 (Somalia);
13,078 (Eritrea)
IDPs: 200,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000, ethnic
clashes in Gambela, and ongoing Ethiopian military counterinsurgency
in Somali region; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela Provinces)
(2007)
Illicit drugs:
transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia
and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in
southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional
export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three
countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the
country's utility as a money laundering center
page last updated on January 20, 2011
======================================================================
@European Union (Europe)
Introduction ::European Union
Preliminary statement:
The evolution of the European Union (EU) from a regional economic
agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's
supranational organization of 27 countries across the European
continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in the annals of
history. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the
norm in Europe. On a few occasions even country-level unions were
arranged - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire were examples - but for such a large number
of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching
entity is truly unique.
Although the EU is not a federation in the strict sense, it is far
more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN, NAFTA, or
Mercosur, and it has many of the attributes associated with
independent nations: its own flag, anthem, founding date, and
currency, as well as an incipient common foreign and security policy
in its dealings with other nations.
In the future, many of these nation-like characteristics are likely
to be expanded. Thus, inclusion of basic intelligence on the EU has
been deemed appropriate as a new, separate entity in The World
Factbook. However, because of the EU's special status, this
description is placed after the regular country entries.
Background:
Following the two devastating World Wars in the first half of the
20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became
convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to
unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both
economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister
Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first
step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel
industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal
and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium,
France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed
the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was
made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957,
the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC)
and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six
member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves
by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three
communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC),
creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the
European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were
initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first
direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five
years since.
In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the
addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw
further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain
and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis
for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in
judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic
and monetary union - including a common currency. This further
integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria,
Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to
15.
A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1
January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU
states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002,
citizens of the 12 euro-area countries (the European Monetary Union
or EMU) began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries
joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia -
and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current
membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to
function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice
(in force as of 1 February 2003) set forth rules streamlining the
size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish an EU
constitution, begun in October 2004, failed to attain unanimous
ratification. A new effort, undertaken in June 2007, created an
Intergovernmental Conference to formulate a political agreement -
initially known as the Reform Treaty but subsequently referred to as
the Treaty of Lisbon - which would serve as a constitution. Unlike
the constitution, however, the Treaty of Lisbon sought to amend
existing treaties rather than replace them. In October 2009, an
Irish referendum approved the Treaty (overturning a previous
rejection) and cleared the way for an ultimate unanimous endorsement
- the Czech Republic signed on soon after. Treaty implementation
began on 1 December 2009. In 2010, the prospect of a Greek default
on its euro-denominated debt created severe strains within the EMU
and raised the question of whether a member country might be removed.
Geography ::European Union
Location:
Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia,
Belarus, and Ukraine to the east
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 4,324,782 sq km
Area - comparative:
less than one-half the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 12,440.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050
km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km,
Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km,
Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811
km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km
note: data for European Continent only
Coastline:
65,992.9 km
Maritime claims:
NA
Climate:
cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate;
mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Terrain:
fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the
central and southern areas
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands
-7 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border
between France and Italy
Natural resources:
iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite,
uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA
other: NA
Irrigated land:
168,050 sq km (2003 est.)
Natural hazards:
flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes
in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in
Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Environment - current issues:
NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
People ::European Union
Population:
492,387,344 (July 2010 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 15.44% (male 38,992,677/female 36,940,450)
15-64 years: 67.23% (male 166,412,403/female 164,295,636)
65 years and over: 17.33% (male 35,376,333/female 49,853,361) (2009
est.)
Median age:
note - see individual country entries of member states (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.098 % (2010 est.)
Birth rate:
9.83 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Death rate:
10.33 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.61 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 181
male: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.82 years
country comparison to the world: 41
male: 75.7 years
female: 82.13 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.51 children born/woman (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
note - see individual country entries of member states
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
note - see individual country entries of member states
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
note - see individual country entries of member states
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish
Languages:
Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French,
Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian,
Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish,
Swedish
note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language
of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken
mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most
widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is
conversant with it (2007)
Government ::European Union
Union name:
conventional long form: European Union
abbreviation: EU
Political structure:
a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization
Capital:
name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October