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Ethiopia:
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Other pages in this profile of Ethiopia:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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Background |
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. 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 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
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Location |
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Geographic coordinates |
8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Map references |
Africa |
Area |
total: 1,127,127 sq km land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative |
slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Land boundaries |
total: 5,328 km border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
Coastline |
0 km (landlocked) |
Maritime claims |
none (landlocked) |
Climate |
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
Terrain |
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
Natural resources |
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Land use |
arable land: 10.01% permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.34% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
2,900 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards |
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
Environment - current issues |
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
Environment - international agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
Geography - note |
landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean |
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Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |