Total area: 1,221,900 km2
land area: 1,101,000 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries: 5,141 km total
Djibouti 459 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 2,221 km

Coastline: 1,094 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden; separatist movement in Eritrea; antigovernment insurgencies in Tigray and other areas

Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation; some areas prone to extended droughts

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

Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash

Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 41%; forest and woodland 24%; other 22%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Environment: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; frequent droughts; famine

Note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; major resettlement project--that was ongoing in rural areas and would have significantly altered population distribution and settlement patterns over the next several decades--has been derailed because of ongoing civil wars

NOTE: The information regarding Ethiopia on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ethiopia Geography 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ethiopia Geography 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.