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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 76,511,887 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.4% (male 16,657,155/female 16,553,812) 15-64 years: 53.8% (male 20,558,026/female 20,639,076) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 953,832/female 1,149,986) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 18 years male: 17.8 years female: 18.1 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.272% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 37.39 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 14.67 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.829 male(s)/female total population: 0.995 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 91.92 deaths/1,000 live births male: 101.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.23 years male: 48.06 years female: 50.44 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.4% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.5 million (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 120,000 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis are high risks in some locations respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian

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Ethnic groups: Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census)

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Religions: Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census)

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Languages: Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% 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. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government 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. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 3.3% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-06.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $73.79 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $13.32 billion (FY05/06 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 10.6% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 46.7% industry: 12.9% services: 40.4% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 27.27 million (1999)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80% industry: 8% services: 12% (1985)

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Unemployment rate: NA%

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Population below poverty line: 38.7% (FY05/06 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.7% (1995)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 30 (2000)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 20% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.679 billion expenditures: $3.388 billion; including capital expenditures of $788 million (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 80.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish

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Industries: food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement

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Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (2001 est.)

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Electricity - production: 2.294 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 2.133 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 29,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 428,000 bbl (1 January 2005)

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 24.92 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: -$3.384 billion (FY05/06 est.)

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Exports: $1.085 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

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Exports - partners: China 10.5%, Germany 8.6%, Japan 7.4%, US 6.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Djibouti 5.7%, Switzerland 5%, Italy 5% (2006)

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Imports: $4.105 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles

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Imports - partners: Saudi Arabia 18.1%, China 11.4%, India 8.1%, Italy 5.1% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.108 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $6.038 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $1.6 billion (FY05/06)

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Currency (code): birr (ETB)

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Exchange rates: birr per US dollar - 8.69 (2006), 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002) note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank

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Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July