ETHIOPIA. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
A country in Northeast Africa. Area - 1,096,000 km². Capital - Addis Ababa (3 million). Administrative-territorial division - 9 states. Population - 72 million (2004): Oromo, Amhara, Tigrayans, Gurage, Somalis, Afars, and others (more than 100 nationalities and ethnic groups in total). The Amharic language is used as a means of interethnic communication and as the working language in government institutions. Religion: Christianity is professed by about 45% of the population, Islam by about 50%, and the rest adhere to traditional beliefs. The currency unit is the birr = 100 cents.
It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with Russia in 1898, with the USSR - April 21, 1943).
National holiday - May 28 (on May 28, 1991, the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples (RDFEP) came to power).
Ethiopia is a republic. The head of state is the president (since 2001 - Girma Wolde-Giorgis Lema), elected by parliament for a term of 5 years, endowed with representative functions. The parliament - the Federal Assembly - is bicameral, elected for a term of 5 years. Legislative power belongs to the lower house of parliament - the House of Peoples' Representatives (548 deputies elected in multiparty elections in 2005). The upper house - the House of Federation (155 deputies elected in 2005 by local authorities). The Prime Minister is elected by parliament, which approves the composition of the government.
In the early years of our era, a large slave-owning state of Aksum was formed in the territory of Northern Ethiopia. Based on it, the Ethiopian feudal state that emerged in the 13th-14th centuries was later fragmented into independent principalities. In the mid-20th century, the reunification of Ethiopian lands began, facilitating resistance to the expansion of Western European powers during the colonial "scramble" for Africa. In 1895, Italy unleashed an aggressive war against Ethiopia, but in the Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896, it suffered defeat and was forced to recognize its independence. In 1930, the first constitution was adopted in the country, a parliament with advisory functions was created, slavery was abolished, and other reforms were implemented, which, however, did not undermine the foundations of the feudal-monarchical system. In 1935, Ethiopia was again attacked by Italy, which occupied the country, incorporating it into its colony of Italian East Africa. The USSR consistently advocated in the League of Nations for the protection of Ethiopia, seeking the imposition of sanctions against the Italian fascist aggressors. A partisan movement unfolded in the country, leading to liberation in 1941.
Under the imperial regime, Ethiopia was an extremely backward country with an archaic feudal-serf system. In February 1974, an anti-monarchist, anti-feudal revolution began in the country, led by the armed forces. On September 12, 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie I was deposed, the parliament and cabinet of ministers were dissolved, and the action of the 1955 constitution was suspended. Power passed into the hands of the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) and the Provisional Military Government. The chairman of the PMAC and the Provisional Military Government of Ethiopia, and later the president of the country (February 1977 - May 1991), was Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The escalation of the internal armed conflict in the last years of his rule led to the military defeat of the existing regime. In May 1991, power in the country passed to the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples (RDFEP) - an organization formed around the most powerful and influential ethnopolitical grouping, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
The ally of the TPLF, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), established its control over the territory of Eritrea.
In July of the same year, the RDFEP organized a Conference in Addis Ababa for the Transition to Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia, which adopted two final documents - the Charter of the Transitional Period and the Declaration on Eritrea (according to the Declaration, on April 23-25, 1993, a referendum was held in Eritrea, which had been federated with Ethiopia since 1952; 99.8% of the participating residents of Eritrea voted for its independence; it was proclaimed on May 24, 1993).
The highest body of state power became the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE). The president of the TGE (and accordingly the president of the country) was elected the general secretary of the RDFEP, Meles Zenawi (since July 22, 1993).
In December 1994, the Constitutional Assembly adopted a new constitution for the country, which came into effect on August 21, 1995. According to the constitution, a parliamentary form of republican governance was established in Ethiopia. In May 2005, regular elections were held in the country for federal and regional authorities. The ruling party, the RDFEP, received the majority of seats in parliament.
In October 2005, the parliament of Ethiopia re-elected Meles Zenawi as prime minister.
In May 1998, due to a border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia, conflict erupted again, leading to casualties and destabilization of the situation in the subregion. The UN Security Council called for an end to the conflict and offered assistance in resolving relations. In May 2000, the UN Security Council imposed a military embargo on both countries for a period of 1 year, which was repeatedly extended. On June 18, 2000, an agreement to cease hostilities was signed in Algiers. In July, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established, and from September 2000, a UN peacekeeping contingent was deployed in a temporary security zone 25 km wide (along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border). On December 12, 2000, in Algiers, with the mediation of the UAE, Algeria, the USA, and the European Union, the Ethiopian-Eritrean peace agreement was signed, and a number of commissions were formed, including for the delimitation and demarcation of the state border. Despite international mediation, tensions remain in relations between the two countries.
Ethiopia has been a member of the UN since 1945 and of the AU since 1963 (and of the AUC since 2002).
Ethiopia is an agrarian country, part of the group of least economically developed countries in the world. About 85% of the self-employed population is engaged in agriculture. The country's territory is prone to drought. Combined with the low efficiency of agriculture, this periodically leads to hunger, a problem that the country can resolve only by receiving emergency food aid from the global community.
In December 1991, a program of new economic policy for the transitional period was adopted, aimed at creating more favorable conditions for the development of private entrepreneurship in agriculture and leading sectors of industry. However, the country's economy has not yet overcome numerous difficulties, exacerbated in 1998 due to the armed conflict on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border.
Agriculture accounts for 49% of GDP and about 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The main crops are cereals (about 7 million tons), coffee (the main export product), oilseeds, legumes; 90% of production is generated in the individual sector. Cattle are raised (over 30 million heads, first place in Africa).
Industry is poorly developed, contributing less than 10% of GDP. Of nearly 800 enterprises, about 250 are profitable. Leading sectors: food, textile, leather and footwear. The share of the public sector in industrial production is about 65%.
There are significant reserves of hydropower resources (up to 50 billion kWh). The largest hydroelectric power station in the country is "Gilgel Gibe" (184 MW). About 1 billion kWh of electricity is produced annually.
Mineral resource reserves are poorly studied, with deposits of tantalum (about 60,000 tons), natural gas (70 billion m³), and gold (190 tons) discovered. Gold, platinum, manganese ore, potassium salt, and quartz sand are extracted.
There are paved highways - about 14,000 km; an international airport; a railway (1,088 km) from Addis Ababa to Djibouti (the capital of the Republic of Djibouti and a port in the Gulf of Aden, servicing Ethiopia's foreign trade operations).
Foreign trade turnover in 2004 was $3,050 million (exports - $980 million, imports - $2,070 million). The country receives 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from coffee sales, and 11.5% from raw hides. Imports include oil, petroleum products, food, machinery and equipment, consumer goods. Main trading partners: EU countries, USA, Japan.
The country's external debt is $1.14 billion (2005).
The share of conditionally literate population has increased from 7% to 70% since 1974. There are about 10,000 schools (mostly primary), and 10 higher education institutions, including 2 universities.
About 50 newspapers of various orientations are published. The largest are "Adcis Zemen" (in Amharic, over 40,000 copies) and "Ethiopian Herald" (in English, about 40,000). There is a government Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
Radio broadcasting covers almost the entire territory of the country. The only television center is in the capital. Television broadcasting is limited by the underdevelopment of retransmission infrastructure and only covers major administrative centers.