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 Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

Economy

Overview: Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates over 60% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs from the agricultural sector. The economy is centrally planned, and over 90% of large-scale industry is state run. Favorable agricultural weather largely explains the 4.5% growth in output in FY89.

GDP: $6.6 billion, per capita $130, real growth rate 4.5% (FY89 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (FY89)

Unemployment rate: NA; shortage of skilled manpower

Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY87)

Exports: $418 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities—coffee 60%, hides; partners—US, FRG, Djibouti, Japan, PDRY, France, Italy

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., FY88), commodities—food, fuels, capital goods; partners—USSR, Italy, FRG, Japan, UK, US, France

External debt: $2.6 billion (1988)

Industrial production: growth rate -0.2% (FY88 est.)

Electricity: 330,000 kW capacity; 700 million kWh produced, 14 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: cement, textiles, food processing, oil refinery

Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP and is the most important sector of the economy even though frequent droughts, poor cultivation practices, and state economic policies keep farm output low; famines not uncommon; export crops of coffee and oilseeds grown partly on state farms; estimated 50% of agricultural production at subsistence level; principal crops and livestock—cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds, potatoes, sugarcane, vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep, goats

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $471 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.0 billion

Currency: birr (plural—birr); 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1—2.0700 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 8 July-7 July

Communications

Railroads: 988 km total; 681 km 1.000-meter gauge; 307 km 0.950-meter gauge (nonoperational)

Highways: 44,300 km total; 3,650 km bituminous, 9,650 km gravel, 3,000 km improved earth, 28,000 km unimproved earth

Ports: Aseb, Mitsiwa

Merchant marine: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,837 GRT/92,067 DWT; includes 10 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll off cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Civil air: 21 major transport aircraft

Airports: 152 total, 111 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 51 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: open-wire and radio relay system adequate for government use; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; stations—4 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 45,000 TV sets; 3,300,000 radios; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense

Military manpower: males 15-49, 11,438,616; 5,922,555 fit for military service; 589,231 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 8.5% of GDP (1988)  Europa Island (French possession)



Geography

Total area: 28 km²; land area: 28 km²

Comparative area: about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 22.2 km

Maritime claims:
 * Contiguous zone: 12 nm
 * Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; heavily wooded

Environment: wildlife sanctuary

Note: located in the Mozambique Channel 340 km west of Madagascar

People

Population: uninhabited

Government

Long-form name: none

Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

Economy

Overview: no economic activity  95