Key Facts

GDP (ppp) per CAPITA

$800 (2008 est.)

Inflation Rate

44.4% (2008 est.)

Population

85,237,338

Country Risk Ratings

C

Ease of Doing Business

116/181

Global Competitiveness

121/134

Country Map

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gE Network

There are 13 members in the
gE Network for this country.

Ethiopia : Introduction

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 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission in November 2007 remotely demarcated the border by geographical coordinates, but final demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: National Bank of Ethiopia

National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) is the central bank of Ethiopia. The website has information on the structure of NBE and a brief history of money and banking in Ethiopia. There is also a chart of recent currency transaction rates as well as a monthly economic and financial review and notes gallery.

Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (June 2009)