Ethiopia Geography Profile 2002

Location

Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Terrain

high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m

Natural resources

small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 9.9%
permanent crops: 0.65%
other: 89.45% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land

1,900 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards

geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts

Environment - current issues

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Group

All, APLAA, Sub-Saharan Africa

Geography - note

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, 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