World Factbook
Ethiopia
YeItyop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
1,096,570 sq km
note
note: area numbers are approximate since a large portion of the Ethiopia-Somalia border is undefined
water
7,730 sq km
total
1,104,300 sq km
Climate
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Land use
other
42.2% (2023 est.)
forest
23.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
34.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 14.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 1.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 17.7% (2023 est.)
Location
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
lowest point
Danakil Depression -125 m
highest point
Ras Dejen 4,550 m
mean elevation
1,330 m
Irrigated land
1,814 sq km (2020)
Major aquifers
Ogaden-Juba Basin, Sudd Basin (Umm Ruwaba Aquifer)
Map references
Africa
Land boundaries
total
5,925 km
border countries
Djibouti 342 km; Eritrea 1,033 km; Kenya 867 km; Somalia 1,640 km; South Sudan 1,299 km; Sudan 744 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m) is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir
Geography - note
the most populous landlocked country in the world; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia
Natural resources
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
Area - comparative
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Geographic coordinates
8 00 N, 38 00 E
Population distribution
highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated, as shown in this population distribution map
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Lake Turkana (shared with Kenya) - 6,400 sq km; Abhe Bid Hayk/Abhe Bad (shared with Djibouti) - 780 sq km;
fresh water lake(s)
Lake Tana - 3,600 sq km; Abaya Hayk - 1,160 sq km; Ch'amo Hayk - 550 sq km
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
(Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Blue Nile river source (shared with Sudan [m]) - 1,600 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth