plateau with central mountain range divided by
Great Rift Valley

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Denakil -125 m
highest point: Ras Dashen Terara 4,620 m

Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper,
potash, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 40%
forests and woodland: 25%
other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,900 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: geologically active Great Rift Valley
susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts

Environment--current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil
erosion; desertification

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the
Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography--note: landlocked?entire coastline along the Red Sea was
lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993

People

Population: 59,680,383 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 13,787,810; female 13,703,546)
15-64 years: 51% (male 15,398,123; female 15,141,892)
65 years and over: 3% (male 745,737; female 903,275) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.16% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 44.34 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 21.43 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan, Kenya, and
Somalia for refuge from war and famine in earlier years, is expected
to continue slowly in 1998; small numbers of Sudanese and Somali
refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting in their own
countries, began returning to their homes in 1998

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 124.57 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 40.46 years
male: 39.22 years
female: 41.73 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.81 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%,
Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Relig