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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Ethiopia Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa, released July, 1999 Note*

CHAPTER X. APPENDICES

A. Country Data:

Population - 60 million (mid-1998, approx.)
Population Growth Rate - approx. 3.0 percent per year
Religions - Orthodox (Coptic) Christian and Islam
Government System - in September 1995, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia turned over power to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, a democratically-elected parliamentary government with regional governments based upon ethnicity.
Languages - Amharic, English, Oromiffa, and Tigrinya
Workweek - Monday through Friday (roughly 9 - 5)

B. Domestic economy (USD millions unless noted):

                          1996           1997        1998
                                          
GDP at market price       6100           6450        6400

GDP Growth Rate           10.9            5.9        -1.0

GDP Per Capita (USD)      115             120         120

Gov't Spending 
  as Percent of GDP        39            23.7        27.0

Inflation (percent)        10.0          -1.0         1.0

Unemployment (percent)     35             33          33

Foreign Exchange 
  Reserves                905            584         412

Average Exchange           
  Rate for USD 1.00        6.3           6.9         7.1

Foreign debt            10,150          9,529        9,812

Debt Service/ 
  Exports Ratio           35             42           29

Price Index 
 (1996 = 100)            100.0           99.9       101.3

U.S. Economic 
  Assistance              87             77.3        98.2

U.S. Military 
  Assistance               n/a            n/a         n/a 

C.  Trade:              
      
Total Exports             410            604         610
            
Total Imports           1,413          1,403       1,430

Balance of Trade         -997           -799        -820

U.S. Exports 
  to Ethiopia             148            121          88    
U.S. Imports 
  from Ethiopia            35             70          52

U.S. Share of 
  Exports (percent)         8.5           11.5         8.5   
U.S. Share of
  Imports (percent)        10.5            8.6         6.2

1997 - Preliminary
1998 - Estimates

Calculations are based on the current exchange rate (one U.S. dollar equals 8.12 Ethiopian birr)

Sources: Ethiopian government, IMF, World Bank, U.S. Embassy, and USAID publications

D. Investment Statistics:

The Investment Office of Ethiopia had licensed 3,531 investors (both domestic and foreign) with a total value of about $3.9 billion. Foreign investors have introduced capital estimated at $577 million. Although an accurate breakdown is not available, currently American direct investment in Ethiopia is estimated at about $9 million.