Ethiopia

Territory in northeast Africa, ruled since 1991 by the ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralāwī Dīmōkrāsīyāwī Rīpeblīk

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Ethiopia (Amharic: ኢትዮጵያ, ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ, yeʾĪtiyoṗṗya Fēdēralawī Dēmokirasīyawī Rīpebilīk), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west and Kenya to the south. With over 102 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent. It occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometers, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.

Geographical type: Territory

Latitude: 8° N — Longitude: 38° E

Area: 1,104,300 km²

ISO 3166-2 code: ET

Measures of Freedom

Ethiopia | Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2024
2016: Status: Not Free, Aggregate Score: 15, Political Rights: 7, Civil Liberties: 6

In 2015, Ethiopia held its first parliamentary elections since the death of longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012. The ruling party and its allies won 100 percent of the seats, eliminating the token opposition member elected in 2010. Opposition party members were intimidated, detained, beaten, and arrested in the run-up to the polls.

Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 5.20, Rank: 148, Personal freedom: 5.03, Economic freedom: 5.44

Level of Economic Freedom, Economic Freedom of the World
2014: 5.60, Rank: 145

Articles

Somalia: US Foreign Policy and Gangsterism, by Justin Raimondo, 29 Dec 2006
Provides background on Somalia from 1993 to 2006 (the warlords period up to the Islamic Courts) and insights into the Ethiopian invasion backed by the United States

When the warlords were driven out, the U.S. resorted to its ally in Addis Ababa to return its gangster-proxies to power ... A former pro-Albania communist and leader of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, comrade Zenawi morphed into George W. Bush's staunchest ally in the Horn of Africa. U.S. military aid increased by leaps and bounds. Zenawi's trajectory parallels Somalia's Mohamed Siad Barre ... Zenawi is a budding Barre. In the summer of 2005, his U.S.-trained-and-equipped army fired on student protesters who objected to the blatant rigging of the recent election: over 20 were killed, and many wounded.