The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which was only ever under colonial rule for a short period during World War II, is Africa's oldest independent country. The country is poor, and its economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which is often affected by drought. Periodic famines have been experienced, with millions in the country being on the brink of starvation in the 1970s and 1980s. Many continue to depend on food aid. Prolonged border conflict with Eritrea escalated into full-scale was in 1999, and border tensions persist. The most widely spoken languages in Ethiopia are Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, and Somali.

Leader: President Girma Woldegiorgis
Capital city: Addis Ababa

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Birr
GDP per capita: $1000 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 42.9% (2010) (World Bank)
Industry: 13.7% (2010) (World Bank)
Services: 43.4% (2010) (World Bank)
GDP growth rate: 8% (2010) (IMF)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $4.36-billion (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $5.098-billion (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 7% (2010) (CIA)
Industries: Food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, and cement
Exports of goods and services: $7.517-billion (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $1.729-billion (2010) (CIA)
Export commodities: Coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, and oilseeds
Import commodities: Food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, and textiles
Trade balance: $-2.232-billion (2010) (CIA)
Reserves: $1.88-billion (2010) (CIA)
Total investment: 25.2% of GDP (2010) (CIA)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: Figures not available

Social profile

Population: 82.82-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 2.6 (2011) (Wrold Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 55.4 years (2009) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 30% (2008) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 102% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 34% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 4% (2008) (World Bank)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 980 000 (2007) (UNAids estimate)