Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, one exception being the Italian occupation of 1936-41. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SALASSIE (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 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. A constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea that erupted in May 1998 has strengthened the ruling coalition, but has hurt the nation's economy.

Economy - overview  Ethiopia's economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent periods of drought and poor cultivation practices, and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy, and Ethiopia earned $267 million in 1999 by exporting 105,000 metric tons. According to current estimates, coffee contributes 10% of Ethiopia's GDP. More than 15 million people (25% of the population) derive their livelihood from the coffee sector. Other exports include live animals, hides, gold, and qat. In December 1999, Ethiopia signed a $1.4 billion joint venture deal to develop a huge natural gas field in the Somali Regional State. The war with Eritrea has forced the government to spend scarce resources on the military and forced the government to scale back ambitious development plans. Foreign investment has declined significantly. Government taxes imposed in late 1999 to raise money for the war will depress an already weak economy. The war has forced the government to improve roads and other parts of the previously neglected infrastructure, but only certain regions of the nation have benefited.

GDP  purchasing power parity - $33.3 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate  0% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita  purchasing power parity - $560 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector  agriculture:46%

industry:12%

services:42% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share  lowest 10%:NA%

highest 10%:NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)  4% (1999 est.)

Labor force  NA

Labor force - by occupation  agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, government and services 12%, industry and construction 8% (1985)

Unemployment rate  NA%

Budget  revenues:$1 billion

expenditures:$1.48 billion, including capital expenditures of $415 million (FY96/97)

Industries  food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Industrial production growth rate  NA%

Electricity - production  1.36 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source  fossil fuel:7.35%

hydro:89.34%

nuclear:0%

other:3.31% (1998)

Electricity - consumption  1.265 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports  0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports  0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products  cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes; hides, cattle, sheep, goats

Exports  $420 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities  coffee, gold, leather products, oilseeds

Exports - partners  Germany 22%, Japan 12%, Italy 9%, UK 5% (1997 est.)

Imports  $1.25 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities  food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles

Imports - partners  Italy 10%, US 9%, Japan 8%, Jordan 5% (1997 est.)

Debt - external  $10 billion (1997)

Economic aid - recipient  $367 million (FY95/96)

Currency  1 birr (Br) = 100 cents

Exchange rates  birr (Br) per US$1 (end of period) - 8.2 (January 2000), 7.5030 (1998), 6.8640 (1997), 6.4260 (1996), 6.3200 (1995)

note:since May 1993, the birr market rate has been determined in an interbank market supported by weekly wholesale auction; prior to that date, the official rate was pegged to US$1 = 5.000 birr

Fiscal year  8 July - 7 July