Ethiopia is in east-central Africa, bordered on the west by the Sudan, the east by Somalia and Djibouti, the south by Kenya, and the northeast by Eritrea. It has several high mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashan at 15,158 ft (4,620 m). The Blue Nile, or Abbai, rises in the northwest and flows in a great semicircle before entering the Sudan. Its chief reservoir, Lake Tana, lies in the northwest.
Country lead by President: Girma Woldegiorgis (2001)
Prime Minister: Meles Zenawi (1995)
Population
74,777,981 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 38.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 93.6/1000; life expectancy: 49.0; density per sq mi: 173
Land Area
432,310 sq mi (1,119,683 sq km); total area: 435,186 sq mi (1,127,127 sq km)
Monetary unit
Birr Language
Amharic, Tigrigna, Orominga, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, English, over 70 others
Ethnicity Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religion Islam 45%–50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%–40%, animist 12%, other 3%–8%
Transportation Railways: total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) (2004). Highways: total: 33,297 km; paved: 3,996 km; unpaved: 29,301 km (2002). Ports and harbors: Ethiopia is landlocked and has used ports of Assab and Massawa in Eritrea and port of Djibouti. Airports: 83 (2004 est.).
