Factbook dossier
Background
The area that is modern-day Ethiopia is rich in cultural and religious diversity with more than 80 ethnic groups. The oldest hominid yet found comes from Ethiopia, and Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity in the 4th century A.D. A series of monarchies ruled the area that is now Ethiopia from 980 B.C. to 1855, when the Amhara kingdoms of northern Ethiopia united in an empire under Tewodros II. Many Ethiopians still speak reverently about the Battle of Adwa in 1896, when they defeated Italian forces and won their freedom from colonial rule. Emperor Haile SELASSIE became an internationally renowned figure in 1935, when he unsuccessfully appealed to the League of Nations to prevent Italy from occupying Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. SELASSIE survived an attempted coup in 1960, annexed modern-day Eritrea in 1962, and played a leading role in establishing the Organization of African Unity in 1963. However, in 1974, a military junta called the Derg deposed him and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, drought, and massive displacement, the Derg regime was toppled in 1991 by a coalition of opposing forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The EPRDF became an ethno-federalist political coalition that ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until its dissolution in 2019. Ethiopia adopted its constitution in 1994 and held its first multiparty elections in 1995. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in 2000. Ethiopia subsequently rejected the 2007 Eritrea-Ethiopia Bound…
Location
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Area
total : 1,104,300 sq km land: 1,096,570 sq km water: 7,730 sq km note: area numbers are approximate since a large portion of the Ethiopia-Somalia border is undefined
Natural resources
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
Natural hazards
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m) is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir
Population
total: 121,372,632 (2025 est.) male: 60,461,406 female: 60,911,226
Ethnic groups
Oromo 35.8%, Amhara 24.1%, Somali 7.2%, Tigray 5.7%, Sidama 4.1%, Guragie 2.6%, Welaita 2.3%, Afar 2.2%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 13.5% (2022 est.)
Languages
Oromo (official regional working language) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official regional working language) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official regional working language) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official regional working language) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (2007 est.) major-language sample(s): Kitaaba Addunyaa Waan Qabataamaatiif - Kan Madda Odeeffannoo bu uraawaatiif baay ee barbaachisaa ta e. (Oromo) የአለም እውነታ መጽሐፍ፣ ለመሠረታዊ መረጃ እጅግ አስፈላጊ የሆነ ምንጭ። (Amharic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Ethiopian Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 0.8% (2016 est.)
Environmental issues
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; loss of biodiversity; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management; industrial pollution and pesticides contribute to air, water, and soil pollution
Government type
federal parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Addis Ababa geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name in Amharic means "new flower;" Empress TAITU gave the name to the new capital city in 1887
Executive branch
chief of state: President TAYE Atske Selassie (since 7 October 2024) head of government: Prime Minister ABIY Ahmed Ali (since April 2018) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister designated by the majority party following legislative elections most recent election date: 21 June 2021 and 30 September 2021 (scheduled 29 August 2020 election was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) election results: 2021: SAHLE-WORK Zewde reelected president during joint session of Parliament, vote - 659 (unanimous); ABIY confirmed Prime Minister by House of Peoples' Representatives (4 October 2021)
Legislative branch
legislative structure: bicameral note: the House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues, and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$380.895 billion (2024 est.) $354.926 billion (2023 est.) $332.97 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$2,900 (2024 est.) $2,800 (2023 est.) $2,700 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
21% (2024 est.) 30.2% (2023 est.) 33.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
USA 12%, China 10%, UAE 8%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Netherlands 5% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
China 26%, Djibouti 16%, India 7%, Kuwait 7%, Saudi Arabia 6% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF; aka Federal Defense Force of Ethiopia, FDRE): Army, Air Force, Naval Force, Defense Cyber Main Directorate (2025) note 1: national and regional police forces are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order, with the ENDF sometimes providing internal security support; the Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP) report to the Prime Minister s Office note 2: the regional governments control regional security forces, including "special" paramilitary forces, which generally operate independently from the federal government and in some cases operate as regional defense forces maintaining national borders; in April 2023, the federal government ordered the integration of these regional special forces into the EFP or ENDF; in some cases, the regional governments have maintained former members of the special forces for crowd control/Adma Bitena as a separate unit within their security structures; local militias also operate across the country in loose and varying coordination with regional security and police forces, the ENDF, and the EFP note 3: in 2018, Ethiopia established a Republican Guard military unit as a separate command operationally under the Office of the Prime Minister and administratively accountable to the Ministry of Defense; it is responsible for protecting senior officials and government institutions and conducting some military operations
Military expenditures
0.7% of GDP (2024 est.) 1% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2022 est.) 0.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.5% of GDP (2020 est.)