Ethiopia

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

8 00 N, 38 00 E

Africa

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

1,814 sq km (2020)

Ogaden-Juba Basin, Sudd Basin (Umm Ruwaba Aquifer)

highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated, as shown in this population distribution map

the most populous landlocked country in the world; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia

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.)

Ethiopian Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 0.8% (2016 est.)

2.34% (2025 est.)

29.08 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.58 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated, as shown in this population distribution map

5.461 million ADDIS ABABA (capital) (2023)

19.3 years (2019 est.)

195 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

3.77 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.86 (2025 est.)

0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

0.3 beds/1,000 population (2016 est.)

4.5% (2016)

21.2% (2019 est.)

66.3% (2019 est.)

federal parliamentary republic

civil law system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, BRICS, COMESA, EITI, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (accession candidate)

oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world, at least 2,000 years; may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which appeared in the first century B.C.

Derg Downfall Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)

Abyssinian lion (traditional), yellow pentagram with five rays of light on a blue field (promoted by government)

green, yellow, red

adopted in 1996, the coat of arms features the national symbol, a pentagram; the blue circle symbolizes peace, and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the Ethiopian people

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (c); Simien National Park (n); Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region (c); Aksum (c); Lower Valley of the Awash (c); Lower Valley of the Omo (c); Tiya (c); Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town (c); Konso Cultural Landscape (c); Gedeo Cultural Landscape (c); Bale Mountains National Park (n); Melka Kunture and Balchit: Archaeological and Palaeontological Sites in the Highland Area of Ethiopia (c)

low-income, fast-growing Horn of Africa economy; widespread poverty and food insecurity worsened by conflict and environmental factors; landlocked with tensions over seaport access; development aid supporting reforms to boost private-sector growth and financial stability; challenge of creating jobs for growing labor force

$126.773 billion (2022 est.)

maize, cereals, wheat, milk, sorghum, barley, taro, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes (2023)

food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, garments, chemicals, metals processing, cement

9.2% (2024 est.)

54.47 million (2024 est.)

23.5% (2015 est.)

3.9% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

USA 12%, China 10%, UAE 8%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Netherlands 5% (2023)

coffee, garments, dried legumes, cut flowers, oil seeds (2023)

China 26%, Djibouti 16%, India 7%, Kuwait 7%, Saudi Arabia 6% (2023)

refined petroleum, fertilizers, plastics, raw sugar, cars (2023)

10 public/state broadcasters; 9 public/state radio stations; 13 commercial FM radio stations; 18 commercial TV stations; 45 community radio stations; 5 community TV stations (2023)

.et

ET

58 (2025)

1 (2025)

Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF; aka Federal Defense Force of Ethiopia, FDRE): Army, Air Force, Naval Force, Defense Cyber Main Directorate (2025)

available information varies widely; estimated 150-300,000 active-duty Defense Force  (2025)

the ENDF's inventory has traditionally been comprised of Russian, Soviet, and Eastern Bloc armaments; it suffered considerable equipment losses during the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict; in more recent years, Ethiopia has diversified its arms sources to include such suppliers as China, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the UAE; Ethiopia's defense industry produces small arms, as well as armored vehicles under license (2025)

18-22 years of age for voluntary military service; 24-month service obligation; no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct callups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2025)

1,500 South Sudan (UNMISS); estimated to have as many as 10,000 troops Somalia (approximately 2,500 under the AU; the remainder under a bilateral agreement with the Somali Government) (2025)

the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) is focused on both external threats emanating from its neighbors and internal threats from multiple internal armed groups; since 1998, the ENDF has engaged in several conventional and counterinsurgency operations, including border wars with Eritrea (1998-2000) and Somalia (2006-2008) and internal conflicts with the Tigray regional state (2020-2022), multiple insurgent groups and ethnic militias, and the al-Shabaab terrorist group; as of 2025, the ENDF was actively conducting counterinsurgency operations against anti-government militants in several states, including the Amhara militia Fano and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), as well as al-Shabaab in Somalia (2025)