Basic Facts About Ethiopia

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to the food crisis in Ethiopia through our ecumenical partner ACT (Action by Churches Together. One hundred percent of every gift designated for Ethiopia Famine Relief, Advance #101250-4 will be used in the relief efforts. Give through a local United Methodist church or send financial contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call 1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation.

Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Population: 58,390,351 (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.21% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 44.69 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 21.25 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religions: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other (including Catholic and Protestant) 3%-8%
Languages: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga, Somali, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools), others
Literacy rate: 35.5% (male: 45.5% , female: 25.3%)
Area: 1,127,127 square kilometers
Land boundaries: Total: 5,311 km; shared borders: Djibouti 337 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 830km, Somalia 1,626 km, Sudan 1,606 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

1999 statistics

See also:

• Large Map of Ethiopia (Political, 1999)
• Large Map of Ethiopia (Relief, 1999)