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Apr 2008: Foreign Policy magazine describes Ethiopia as 45 percent undernourished.
Central-Eastern Africa. Landlocked. East of where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden. A little less than half the size of Texas. Capital: Addis Ababa.
President elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term.
Bicameral Parliament. Upper chamber (108 seats), with members chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms. Lower chamber (548 seats) with members elected by popular vote for five-year terms.
Satisfaction with authorities, October 2004. A report published by the BBC describes a poll of 50,000 families in 28 African countries, by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. There are complaints of "corruption, poor tax systems, run-down and unaccountable public services, weak parliaments and unreformed courts." Ethiopia is among the four lowest ranking countries regarding trust in authorities by those polled.
July 2007. Ethiopia claims to be a democracy, but the regime in power has little tolerance for opposition. Elections are said to be rigged and protesters have been killed. Opposition candidates have been accused of trying to overthrow the government. A judge who accused the police of carrying out a massacre felt compelled to flee the country.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "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."
Estimated per capita GDP:
2008 $800
2007 $800
2006 $700
Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP: 3 (estimated for 2006).
Deaths:
2008: 14.49
2007: 14.67
2005: 15.06
2003: 20.17
Births:
2008: 36.80
2007: 37.59
2005: 38.61
2003: 39.81
Estimated for July 2008: 78.254 million, up from 73 million in 2005. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 2.231 percent per year.
Infant mortality (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births) estimated for 2008: 90.24, down from 95.32 in 2005.
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 49.43 years, up from 48.83 in 2005
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 4.4 percent (2003 estimate).
Muslim 45 to 50 percent, Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 35 to 40 percent,
animist 12 percent.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
BBC News
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.