Exact population: 74,777,981 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Literacy: Total population: 42.7%; male: 50.3%; female: 35.1%

Ethnicities: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Area: Total: 1,127,127 sq km; land: 1,119,683 sq km; water: 7,444 sq km

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

Terrain: High plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

Extremes: Lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m; highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m

Imports: Saudi Arabia 25.3%, US 15.8%, China 6.6% (2004)

Exports: Djibouti 13.3%, Germany 10%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, US 5.2%, UAE 5%, Italy 4.6% (2004)

Industries: Food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Source: CIA World Factbook