by Sean Quinn
I. Area
A. 1,127,127 sq. kilometers
II. Major Cities
A. Addia Ababa (capital city, pop. 1,673,100)
B. Dire Dawa (pop. 117,700)
C. Gonder (pop. 95,000)
D. Nazret (pop. 91,000)
E. Debre Zeyit
F. Akaki
G. Araba Minch
H. Awasa
I. Bahir Dar
J. Jijiga
K. Shashemene
L. Haver
M. Aseb
N. Dese
O. Jima
P. Debre Markos
III. People
A. Population
1. In 1996 total of 55,979,018 people
a. 45% are 15 years old or younger
2. In the year 2000 approximately 67,600,000
3. Male population-27,950,000
4. Female population-28,000,000
B. Ethnic Groups
1. Oromo-40%
2. Amhara-25%
3. Tigre-12%
4. Sidama-9%
5. Other-14%
C. Religion
1. Muslim-42%
2. Ethiopian Orthodox Christian-37%
3. Indigenous Beliefs-21%
D. Languages
1. Amharic (official language)
2. Tigrigna
3. Tigre
4. Guragingna
5. Oromigno
6. Somali
7. Sidama
8. Afar
9. English
IV. Location
A. General
1. North Eastern Africa
2. Roughly 8,000 miles from Chicago
B. Bordering Countries
1. Somalia
2. Kenya
3. Djibouti
4. Eritrea
5. Sudan
C. Maps
1. Country Map
2. Map of countries surrounding Ethiopia
V. Major Products/Raw Materials
A. Agriculture
1. Crops
a. Corn
b. Barley
c. Wheat
d. Coffee
e. Surgham
f. Sugarcane
g. Millet
h. Esente
i. Oilseeds
j. Linseed
k. Sesame Seeds
l. Cotton
m. Khat
n. Pulses
2. Livestock
a. Camels
b. Cattle
c. Goats
d. Mules
e. Sheep
f. Donkeys
g. Horses
h. Chicken
B. Industry
1. Processed Foods
2. Textiles
3. Cement
4. Beverages
5. Construction
6. Hydroelectric Power
C. Mining
1. Gold
2. Salt
3. Limestone
4. Platinum
5. Potash
6. Magneese
D. Raw Materials
1. Ethiopia has done very little to search for natural resources.
a. Gold
b. Salt
c. Limestone
d. Platinum
e. Potash
f. Magneese
g. Soil
VI. Trade
A. Imports
1. Value
a. $976.6 million per year
2. Countries imported from
a. U.S.A.-13.1%
b. Germany-11.4%
c. Italy-10.6%
d. Saudi Arabia-9.9%
e. USSR
f. Japan
g. U.K.
3. Nature of the imports
a. Petroleum Products-24%
b. Machinery-18%
c. Food and Animals-30%
d. Manufactured Goods
B. Exports
1. Value
a. $487.6 million
2. Countries
a. Germany-27.9%
b. Japan-22.9%
c. Saudi Arabia-8.4%
d. Italy-6.8%
e. USA
f. Netherlands
3. Nature of the exports
a. Coffee-66.9%
b. Hides and Skins-8.1%
c. Pulses
d. Oilseeds
VII. Economy
A. GDP
1. $6,891 million in 93
B. Per Capita Income
1. $121 US dollars
C. Economic Social Standing
1. Ranked 163 out of 172
D. Budget
1. Revenue
a. $722 million US dollars
2. Expenditures
a. $2.04 billion US dollars
3. Fiscal Year
a. July8-July7
E. Currency
1. The Ethiopian Birr
a. 2.07 birr are equal to $1 US dollar
VIII. Education
A. Literacy
1. 5% literacy rate
2. 52% of adults, 35 and over, are literate
B. Children between the ages of 5 and 19 that are enrolled in schools
1. 15%
C. Colleges
1. The National University of Addis Ababa
a. There are also a few other colleges that major in:
1. Public Health
2. Agriculture
IX. Health
A. Life Expectancy At Birth
1. Males-50.2 years
2. Females-53.4 years
B. Life expectancy
1. 110/1000 die at birth
2. 1/5 die before the age of 5
C. Natural Increase In The Population Size
1. 3.14%
D. Physicians
1. 1689 doctors nationwide
a. that is one per every 33,000 people
X. Labor Force
A. Where is the labor force from
1. They come from the cities and from the rural areas
B. What is their responsibility
1. To produce as many goods and as much food as possible
C. What do they do
1. 88.6% work in agriculture (rural areas)
2. 6.1% industrial (in the cities)
3. 7.1% other (both city and rural)
XI. Government
A. Type
1. Ethiopia is a Republic
B. Ruler/Rulers
1. Ethiopia is ruled by a president whom is voted in by the Council Of Representatives.
a. The current president is Lennart Meri and he will be in office until the elections in late 1996.
XII. Topography
A. Seasons
1. There are 2 main seasons of rain
a. Heavy rain in June-August
b. Light rain in February-April
c. The other months are unpredictable and can be plagued with major droughts.
B. Land
1. Highlands
2. Dry plains (almost desert-like)
3. Very few forests
C. Temperatures
1. They range from 100F in the dry plains to 30F in the highlands
D. Rainfall
1. Ethiopia averages 35 inches of rainfall each year, but is prone to major droughts in most areas.
XIII. Brief History
A. Overview since World War II
1. 1952-Gained control of Eritrea due to a decision by the UN
2. 1974-Government was overthrown by the armed forces and a monarchy was established.
3. 1977-Eritera fights for it's independence
4. 1980's-Horrible droughts kill an unknown amount of Ethiopians
5. 1993-Ethiopia's government collapses and a Republic is formed. It is agreed that Eritrea is now and independent country.
6. 1994-Ethiopia draws up a new constitution to coincide with it's new government.
C. Brief History
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa. The first recorded kingdom in Ethiopia grew near Axum during the 3rd century BC. Over the next few centuries, Axum encroached more and more on Meroe until, when Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century AD, Ethiopia conquered the kingdom. Christianity was adopted in the country in 330 AD. Axum conquered parts of Yemen and southern Arabia and remained a great power until the death of the Prophet Mohammed. Islam was expanding which had the effect of cutting off Ethiopia from its former Mediterranean trading partners and allies, Muslims replaced the Egyptians in the Red Sea ports. Ethiopians were allowed to consecrate their Bishops in Cairo and pilgrims were allowed to travel to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the Ethiopians did not have such a good relationship with the pagan tribes in the south. After some time these tribes were pacified and Ethiopia recovered enough to take the provinces of Amhara, Lasta, Gojam and Damot. At a similar time the capital was moved to the south to the Amhara province. In the 12th century Muslim expansion began. As independent trading kingdoms grew up along the coast of the Red Sea, they expanded down to the Awash Valley. Their wealth was based mainly upon a trade in slaves, gold and ivory. During the 13th and 14th centuries the Red Sea Kingdoms became Ethiopian vassal states. During the 15th century with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Ethiopian fortunes were reversed. The Turks who succeeded the Mamelukes in Egypt supported the Muslim kingdoms providing both firearms and artillery; the only thing that saved the Christian empire from collapse was the Portuguese. In 1542, missionaries from Portugal attempted to persuade the Ethiopians to accept the Pope in Rome as the leader of the Church. In the 18th century the empire broke down into constituent provinces, and a hundred years of constant warfare between existing war lords and their successors followed. Ras Kassa had himself crowned as the emperor at Axum under a different name, Tewodros. This happened in 1855 when he constructed an army to reunite the provinces of Tigre, Amhara and Shoa. Tewodros shot himself because the British, in 1867, blockaded his fortress. He was succeeded by John the 4th who took power by using British arms and was forced to accept a powerful young vassal King of Shoa as his heir, named Menelik. He built up large stores of European arms which he used to defeat the Italians in 1896 at Adowa. John the 4th enlarged his empire at the expense of the Afars, the Somalis of Harrar and the Ogadam, and the Gallas. In 1916, Haile Selassie, born Prince Ras Tafari Makonnen, led a revolution and became Prince Regent, heir to the throne. He was proclaimed Emperor in 1930. Mussolini, from Italy overran the country in 1936. Haile Selassie fled to England where he lived in exile. He appealed for help, but none was offered although the western nations condemned the action. The Italians remained present in Ethiopia until 1941. Haile Selassie returned as Emperor.
After World War II, Ethiopia's course as an independent nation continued although the province of Eritrea remained under British control until 1952 when it was federated with Ethiopia, organized by the UN. The Muslims were unhappy about the this decision and so, in 1962, it was dissolved and the province was annexed by Haile Selassie. This caused an outbreak of guerrilla warfare, the Muslims against the Christians. The Eritreans greatly disliked this and therefore, there were many years of fighting. This was one of the principle factors leading to Haile Selassie's downfall. Haile Selassie was respected as an African statesman and as a key person in the construction of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Wealth went to nobility and the church. Many thousands of people died due to famine and the war in Eritrea. In 1974 Haile Selassie was deposed of and held under armed guard in his palace. He died several months later. Ethiopia was then plunged into a social revolution and a group of junior army officers imposed a military dictatorship. The leader was Mengistu Haile Miriam. He threw out Americans and then instituted a number of radical reforms. He jailed the opposition. Mengistu's policies included creating committees which controlled the everyday lives of the people in great detail. Large numbers of people were forcibly moved around the country in an attempt to counter famine. Ever man from 18 to 70 years old was drafted into the army. Mengistu found himself with an unhappy population, frequent famine, war in Eritrea, Ogaden and Tigray. Finally, in 1991, when the rebel forces were about to seize Addis Ababa, Mengistu left the country for Zimbabwe. A new government was led by Meles Zenawi who set out a policy to pursue multi-party democracy. Led by Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea became independent.
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