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

the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia;

three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission(EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea.

Conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Conventional short form: Ethiopia

Local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik

Local short form: Ityop'iya

Formerly known as: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa

abbreviation: FDRE

Ethiopia's capital city is Addis Ababa

Ethiopia Constitution:

ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995

Ethiopia population growth rate: 2.9%

Ethiopia highest point: Ras Dejen 4,533 m

Ethiopia lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m

About 10% of Ethiopia's land is arable.

Awash River is the Longest River in Ethiopia

Ethiopia birth rate is 39 births/1,000 population

Ethiopia infant mortality rate is 61 deaths/1,000 live births

Ethiopia fertility rate is 5.31 children born/woman

Ethiopia climate:

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Top 10 cities of Ethiopia with populations (2012 est.) are:

1. Addis Ababa: 3,040,740

2. Dire Dawa: 273,601

3. Mek'ele: 271,562

4. Adama: 262,884

5. Gondar: 254,450

6. Awasa: 212,665

7. Bahir Dar: 191,015

8. Jimma: 149,166

9. Dessie: 147,592

10. Jijiga: 147,482

Ethiopia ethnic groups:

Oromo - 34.5%
Amara - 26.9%
Somalie - 6.2%
Tigraway - 6.1%
Sidama - 4%
Gurage - 2.5%
Welaita - 2.3%
Hadiya - 1.7%
Affar - 1.7%
Gamo - 1.5%
Gedeo - 1.3%
other - 11.3%

Ethiopia Exports:

coffee
khat
gold
leather products
live animals
oilseeds

Ethiopia Imports:

food and live animals
petroleum and petroleum products
chemicals
machinery
motor vehicles
cereals
textiles

bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing legislation) (547 seats; members directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)

9 ethnically based states (kililoch, singular - kilil)

1. Afar
2. Amara (Amhara)
3. Binshangul Gumuz
4. Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples)
5. Hareri Hizb (Harari People)
6. Oromiya (Oromia)
7. Sumale (Somali)
8. Tigray
9. Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples)

and 2 self-governing administrations (astedaderoch, singular - astedader)

1. Adis Abeba (Addis Ababa)
2. Dire Dawa

Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP) - Mohammed KEDIR

All Ethiopian Unity Organization (AEUO) - Hailu SHAWEL

Arena Tigray - GEBRU Asrat

Argoba People's Democratic Organization (APDO) - Abdulkader MOHAMMED

Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party (BGPDP) - Mulualem BESSE

Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party (CUDP) - AYELE Chamiso

Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) - MUSHE Semu

Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum (FORUM) (a UDJ-led 6-party alliance established for the 2010 parliamentary elections) - Dr. Moga FRISSA

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) (including the following organizations: Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM); Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO; Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM); and Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF))

Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement (GPUDM)

Gurage Peoples Democratic Front - GIRMA Bogale

Harari National League (HNL) - YASIN Husein

Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)

Oromo People's Congress (OPC) - IMERERA Gudina

Somali Democratic Alliance Forces (SODAF) - BUH Hussien

Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) - Abdulfetah Sheck ABDULAHI

South Ethiopian People's Democratic Union (SEPDU) - TILAHUN Endeshaw

United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) - BEYENE Petros

Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) - Dr. NEGASSO Gidada