100 %
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.
Although largely free from the coups that have plagued other African countries, Ethiopia's turmoil has been no less devastating. Drought, famine, war and ill-conceived policies brought millions to the brink of starvation in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1974 this helped topple Haile Selassie. His regime was replaced by a self-proclaimed Marxist junta led by Mengistu Haile Mariam under which many thousands of opponents were purged or killed, property was confiscated and defense spending spiraled.
The overthrow of the junta in 1991 saw political and economic conditions stabilize, but not enough to restore investors' confidence.
Eritrea gained independence in 1993 following a referendum. Poor border demarcation developed into military conflict and full-scale war in the late 1990s in which tens of thousands of people were killed.
A fragile truce has held, but the UN says ongoing disputes over the demarcation of the border threaten peace.
Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states. Almost two-thirds of its people are illiterate. The economy revolves around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall. The country is one of Africa's leading coffee producers.
Many Ethiopians depend on food aid from abroad. In 2004 the government began a drive to move more than two million people away from the arid highlands of the east in an attempt to provide a lasting solution to food shortages.
FACTS
Full name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Population: 85.2 million (UN, 2008)
Capital: Addis Ababa
Area: 1.13 million sq km (437,794 sq miles)
Major languages: Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali
Major religions: Christianity, Islam
Life expectancy: 52 years (men), 54 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Birr = 100 cents
Main exports: Coffee, hides, oilseeds, beeswax, sugarcane
GNI per capita: US $220 (World Bank, 2007)
