Part 18
Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)--last held October 1986 (next to be held October 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(210 total, 140 elected)
Communists: about 500 party members
Other political or pressure groups: Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government and recently gained a sizable presence in the new People's Assembly; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
Member of: ACC, AfDB, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WPC, WSG, WTO; Egypt was suspended from Arab League and OAPEC in April 1979 and readmitted in May 1989
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at 5 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527); telephone [20] [2] 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two stars, and Iraq which has three stars--all green and five-pointed in a horizontal line centered in the white band
- Economy Overview: Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. With 1 million people being added every eight months to Egypt's population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.
GDP: $38.3 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)
Exports: $2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--raw cotton, crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles; partners--US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
Imports: $10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foods, machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods; partners--US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
External debt: $45 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world's fifth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food; livestock--cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $14.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.4 billion
Currency: Egyptian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (LE) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1--2.5790 (January 1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2128 (1988), 1.5015 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications Railroads: 5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified
Highways: 51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460 km
Ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
Merchant marine: 142 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,799 GRT/1,754,181 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 88 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk
Civil air: 43 major transport aircraft
Airports: 97 total, 87 usable; 67 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 46 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations--25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); new radio relay to Jordan
- Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Military manpower: males 15-49, 13,271,942; 8,642,075 fit for military service; 547,084 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 7.2% of GDP, or $2.8 billion (FY90 est.) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: El Salvador - Geography Total area: 21,040 km2; land area: 20,720 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: 545 km total; Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)
Disputes: several sections of the boundary with Honduras are in dispute
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Natural resources: hydropower and geothermal power, crude oil
Land use: 27% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures; 6% forest and woodland; 30% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: The Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
- People Population: 5,309,865 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 49 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Salvadoran(s); adjective--Salvadoran
Ethnic divisions: 89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% white
Religion: about 97% Roman Catholic, with activity by Protestant groups throughout the country
Language: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
Literacy: 65%
Labor force: 1,700,000 (1982 est.); 40% agriculture, 16% commerce, 15% manufacturing, 13% government, 9% financial services, 6% transportation; shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled labor, but manpower training programs improving situation (1984 est.)
Organized labor: 15% total labor force; 10% agricultural labor force; 7% urban labor force (1987 est.)
- Government Long-form name: Republic of El Salvador
Type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular--departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Constitution: 20 December 1983
Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Alfredo CRISTIANI (since 1 June 1989); Vice President Jose Francisco MERINO (since 1 June 1989)
Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Armando Calderon Sol; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jose Antonio Morales Erlich; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro Cruz Zepeda; Democratic Action (AD), Ricardo Gonzalez Camacho; Salvadoran Authentic Institutional Party (PAISA), Roberto Escobar Garcia; Patria Libre (PL), Hugo Barrera; Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Julio Rey Prendes; Salvadoran Popular Party (PPS), Francisco Quinonez; Democratic Convergence (CD), a coalition composed of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Rene Roldan; the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Guillermo Ungo; and the Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC), Ruben Zamora
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President--last held 19 March 1989 (next to be held March 1994); results--Alfredo Cristiani (ARENA) 53.8%, Fidel Chavez Mena (PDC) 36.6%, other 9.6%;
Legislative Assembly--last held 20 March 1988 (next to be held March 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(60 total) ARENA 32, MAC 13, PDC 9, PCN 6
Other political or pressure groups:
Leftist revolutionary movement--Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), leadership body of the insurgency; Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance (FARN), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), Salvadoran Communist Party/Armed Forces of Liberation (PCES/FAL), and Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTC)/Popular Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARLP);
Militant front organizations--Revolutionary Coordinator of Masses (CRM; alliance of front groups), Popular Revolutionary Bloc (BPR), Unified Popular Action Front (FAPU), Popular Leagues of 28 February (LP-28), National Democratic Union (UDN), and Popular Liberation Movement (MLP); Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR), coalition of CRM and Democratic Front (FD); FD consists of moderate leftist groups--Independent Movement of Professionals and Technicians of El Salvador (MIPTES), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC);
Extreme rightist vigilante organizations--Anti-Communist Army (ESA); Maximiliano Hernandez Brigade; Organization for Liberation From Communism (OLC);
Labor organizations--Federation of Construction and Transport Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; Unitary Federation of Salvadoran Unions (FUSS), leftist; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS), leftist; Democratic Workers Central (CTD), moderate; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; Popular Democratic Unity (UPD), moderate labor coalition which includes FESINCONSTRANS, and other democratic labor organizations; National Unity of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS), leftist; National Union of Workers and Peasants (UNOC), moderate labor coalition of democratic labor organizations;
Business organizations--National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), conservative; Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative
Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Miguel Angel SALAVERRIA; Chancery at 2308 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-3480 through 3482; there are Salvadoran Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, US--Ambassador William G. WALKER; Embassy at 25 Avenida Norte No. 1230, San Salvador (mailing address is APO Miami 34023); telephone [503] 26-7100
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band--it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
- Economy Overview: The economy experienced a modest recovery during the period 1983-86, after a sharp decline in the early 1980s. Real GDP grew by 1.5% a year on the strength of value added by the manufacturing and service sectors. In 1987 the economy expanded by 2.5% as agricultural output recovered from the 1986 drought. The agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 40% of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the major commercial crop, contributing 60% to export earnings. The manufacturing sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 17% of GDP and 16% of employment. Economic losses due to guerrilla sabotage total more than $2.0 billion since 1979. The costs of maintaining a large military seriously constrain the government's ability to provide essential social services.
GDP: $5.5 billion, per capita $1,020 (1988); real growth rate 0.9% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.8% (September 1989)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1989)
Budget: revenues $688 million; expenditures $725 million, including capital expenditures of $112 million (1988)
Exports: $497 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--coffee 60%, sugar, cotton, shrimp; partners--US 49%, FRG 24%, Guatemala 7%, Costa Rica 4%, Japan 4%
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum products, consumer goods, foodstuffs, machinery, construction materials, fertilizer; partners--US 40%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 7%, FRG 5%, Japan 4%
External debt: $1.7 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989)
Electricity: 669,000 kW capacity; 1,813 million kWh produced, 350 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, textiles, clothing, petroleum products, cement
Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other products--sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products, shrimp; not self-sufficient in food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $353 million
Currency: Salvadoran colon (plural--colones); 1 Salvadoran colon (C) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1--5.0000 (fixed rate since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications Railroads: 602 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track
Highways: 10,000 km total; 1,500 km paved, 4,100 km gravel, 4,400 km improved and unimproved earth
Inland waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable
Ports: Acajutla, Cutuco
Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft
Airports: 125 total, 84 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: nationwide trunk radio relay system; connection into Central American Microwave System; 116,000 telephones; stations--77 AM, no FM, 5 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Police, Treasury Police
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,180,751; 754,350 fit for military service; 68,805 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 4% of GDP, or $220 million (1990 est.) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Equatorial Guinea - Geography Total area: 28,050 km2; land area: 28,050 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: 539 km total; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline: 296 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Natural resources: timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium
Land use: 8% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 51% forest and woodland; 33% other
Environment: subject to violent windstorms
Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
- People Population: 368,935 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s); adjective--Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic divisions: indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos; Rio Muni, primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly Spanish
Religion: natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic; some pagan practices retained
Language: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Literacy: 40%
Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.); 66% agriculture, 23% services, 11% industry (1980); labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: no formal trade unions
- Government Long-form name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Type: republic
Capital: Malabo
Administrative divisions: 2 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Bioko, Rio Muni; note--there may now be 6 provinces named Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain; formerly Spanish Guinea)
Constitution: 15 August 1982
Legal system: in transition; partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of People's Representatives (Camara de Representantes del Pueblo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Leaders: Chief of State--President Brig. Gen. Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE Bioko Malabo (since 15 August 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi Monsuy Andeme (since 15 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDEG), Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, party leader
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections: President--last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996); results--President Brig. Gen. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was reelected without opposition;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 10 July 1988 (next to be held 10 July 1993); results--PDEG is the only party; seats--(41 total) PDEG 41
Communists: no significant number but some sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, Conference of East and Central African States, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1403, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 599-1523; US--Ambassador Chester E. NORRIS, Jr.; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros, Malabo (mailing address is P. O. Box 597, Malabo); telephone 2406 or 2507
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
- Economy Overview: The economy, destroyed during the regime of former President Macias Nguema, is now based on agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which account for about 60% of GNP and nearly all exports. Subsistence agriculture predominates, with cocoa, coffee, and wood products providing income, foreign exchange, and government revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts for about 10% of GNP, and the construction, public works, and service sectors for about 34%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration is taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms.
GNP: $103 million, per capita $293; real growth rate NA% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 6.0% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $23 million; expenditures $31 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1988)
Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--coffee, timber, cocoa beans; partners--Spain 44%, FRG 19%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11% (1987)
Imports: $50 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery; partners--Spain 34%, Italy 16%, France 14%, Netherlands 8% (1987)
External debt: $191 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced, 170 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: fishing, sawmilling
Agriculture: cash crops--timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa from Bioko; food crops--rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-88), $11 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $100 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $55 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications Highways: Rio Muni--1,024 km; Bioko--216 km
Ports: Malabo, Bata
Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413 GRT/6,699 DWT; includes 1 cargo and 1 passenger-cargo
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airports: 4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor system with adequate government services; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; 2,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, and possibly Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 77,363; 39,174 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 11% of GNP (FY81 est.) ---------------------------------------------------- Country: Ethiopia - Geography Total area: 1,221,900 km2; land area: 1,101,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 5,141 km total; Djibouti 459 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 2,221 km
Coastline: 1,094 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden; separatist movement in Eritrea; antigovernment insurgencies in Tigray and other areas
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation; prone to extended droughts
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash
Land use: 12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 41% meadows and pastures; 24% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; frequent droughts; famine
Note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; major resettlement project ongoing in rural areas will significantly alter population distribution and settlement patterns over the next several decades
- People Population: 51,666,622 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Ethiopian(s); adjective--Ethiopian
Ethnic divisions: 40% Oromo, 32% Amhara and Tigrean, 9% Sidamo, 6% Shankella, 6% Somali, 4% Afar, 2% Gurage, 1% other
Religion: 40-45% Muslim, 35-40% Ethiopian Orthodox, 15-20% animist, 5% other
Language: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy: 55.2%
Labor force: 18,000,000; 80% agriculture and animal husbandry, 12% government and services, 8% industry and construction (1985)
Organized labor: All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government in January 1977 to represent 273,000 registered trade union members
- Government Long-form name: People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Type: Communist state
Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 14 administrative regions (plural--NA, singular--kifle hager); Arsi, Bale, Eritrea, Gamo Gofa, Gojam, Gonder, Harerge, Ilubabor, Kefa, Shewa, Sidamo, Tigray, Welega, Welo; note--the administrative structure may be changing to 25 administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular--astedader akababee) and 5 autonomous regions* (rasgez akababiwach, singular--rasgez akababee); Addis Ababa, Arsi, Aseb*, Asosa, Bale, Borena, Dire Dawa*, East Gojam, East Harerge, Eritrea*, Gambela, Gamo Gofa, Ilubabor, Kefa, Metekel, Nazaret, North Gonder, North Shewa, North Welo, Ogaden*, Omo, Sidamo, South Gonder, South Shewa, South Welo, Tigray*, Welega, West Gojam, West Harerge, West Shewa
Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world--at least 2,000 years
Constitution: 12 September 1987
Legal system: complex structure with civil, Islamic, common, and customary law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Revolution Day, 12 September (1974)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of State prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Shengo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State--President MENGISTU Haile-Mariam (Chairman from 11 September 1977 until becoming President on 10 September 1987); Vice President FISSEHA Desta (since 10 September 1987);
Head of Government--Prime Minister (Acting) and Deputy Prime Minister HAILU Yimenu (since 7 November 1989); Deputy Prime Minister WOLLE Chekol (since 21 November 1989); Deputy Prime Minister ALEMU Abebe (since 10 September 1987); Deputy Prime Minister TESFAYE Dinka (since 10 September 1987); Deputy Prime Minister ASHAGRE Yigletu (since 21 November 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE), Mengistu Haile-Mariam, secretary general
Suffrage: universal at age 18