Australia (2005) | Ethiopia (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | 9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.8% (male 2,038,809/female 1,943,563)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 6,815,600/female 6,695,189) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,145,274/female 1,452,002) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.4% (male 16,657,155/female 16,553,812)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 20,558,026/female 20,639,076) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 953,832/female 1,149,986) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Airports | 448 (2004 est.) | 84 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 305
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 139 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 143
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) |
total: 69
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
Area | total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990's, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980's. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. 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 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
Birth rate | 12.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $222.7 billion
expenditures: $221.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $2.614 billion
expenditures: $3.201 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Canberra | name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
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 former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE |
Death rate | 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.67 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $308.7 billion (3rd quarter, 2004 est.) | $3.406 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependent areas | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: William A. STANTON, Charge d'Affaires ad interim
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald Y. YAMAMOTO
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] 11-517-40-00 FAX: [251] 11-517-40-01 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | East Timor and Australia continue to meet but disagree over how to delimit a permanent maritime boundary and share unexploited petroleum resources that fall outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia (see also Ashmore and Cartier Islands dispute); regional states express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime indentification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted claims to UNCLOS to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $1.6 billion (FY05/06) |
Economy - overview | Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy, robust business and consumer confidence, and rising exports of raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up from $8 billion in 2002, to $18 billion in 2003, and to $13 billion in 2004. One other concern is the rapid increase in domestic housing prices, which have raised the prospect that interest rates will need to be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. | Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 3.3% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-06. |
Electricity - consumption | 195.6 billion kWh (2002) | 2.577 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 210.3 billion kWh (2002) | 2.864 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | birr per US dollar - 8.69 (2006), 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Mark VAILE (since 6 July 2005) cabinet: Prime Minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the Governor General to serve as government ministers elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in October 2010); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100% |
Exports | 523,400 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
Exports - partners | Japan 18.6%, China 9.2%, US 8.1%, South Korea 7.7%, New Zealand 7.4%, India 4.6%, UK 4.2% (2004) | China 11%, Germany 9.1%, Japan 7.8%, US 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, Djibouti 6%, Italy 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 8 July - 7 July |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 28.2% services: 68.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 48.3%
industry: 13% services: 38.7% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $30,700 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2004 est.) | 10.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world | 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 |
Highways | total: 811,603 km
paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways) unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 25.5% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate | transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center |
Imports | 530,800 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
Imports - partners | US 14.8%, China 12.7%, Japan 11.8%, Germany 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%, UK 4.1% (2004) | Saudi Arabia 18.1%, China 11.4%, India 8.1%, Italy 5.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 7.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 91.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 13.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,900 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) |
Labor force | 10.35 million (2004 est.) | 27.27 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3.6%, industry 26.4%, services 70% (2004 est.) | agriculture: 80%
industry: 8% services: 12% (1985) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.41% (2001) |
arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.34% (2005) |
Languages | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) | Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census) |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential voting to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held no later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be called no later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (for session beginning on 1 July 2005) - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 39, Australian Labor Party 28, Democrats 4, Australian Greens 4, Family First Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 87, Australian Labor Party 60, independents 3 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber) (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber) (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2 note: irregularities at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.39 years
male: 77.52 years female: 83.4 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 49.23 years
male: 48.06 years female: 50.44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 16 (France 1, Germany 3, Japan 1, Philippines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 7) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 120,383 GRT/152,418 DWT
by type: cargo 8, roll on/roll off 2 (2007) |
Military branches | Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $16.65 billion (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (2004) | 3% (2006) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Labor Party [Kim BEAZLEY]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]; One Nation Party [Len HARRIS]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING] | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP [TEMESGEN Zewdie] (contains elements of the former CUD); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopian People's Democratic Front or SEPDF, and Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa] |
Population | 20,090,437 (July 2005 est.) | 76,511,887
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 38.7% (FY05/06 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2005 est.) | 2.272% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | total: 54,439 km (3859 km electrified)
broad gauge: 5,434 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 34,110 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,895 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2004) |
total: 699 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 699 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2006) |
Religions | Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census) | Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.829 male(s)/female total population: 0.995 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
general assessment: inadequate telephone system; the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is increasing from a very small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is only about 2 per 100 persons
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10.815 million (2003) | 725,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14.347 million (2003) | 866,700 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | 1 (plus 24 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.1 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.1% (December 2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004) | - |