* Official name: Socialist Ethiopia.

* Population: 51 million (1991 estimate).

* Situation: North East Africa.

* Timezone: GMT + 3.

* Area: 1,221,918 square kilometres / 471,660 square miles.

* Borders with: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan.

* Coasts: None.

* Capital: Addis Ababa (Population 1.8 million, 1991 estimate).

* Major Towns: Jimmna, Dire Dawa.

* Chief Port: None but Assab in Eritrea on the Red Sea was declared an Ethiopian freeport at the time of the negotiating for the independence of Eritrea in 1991.

* Religion: Ethiopian Orthodox Christians (40%), Islam (40%).

* Rest Day: Sunday.

* Electricity: 220 Volts AC, 50 Hz.

* Physical: Dominating the country is a mountainous central plateau with an average height above sea level of between 1,800 to 2,400 meters / 6,000 to 8,000 feet. The highest peak at 4,620 meters / 15,157 feet is Mt Ras Dashan. The Great Rift Valley runs from north east to south west. The Blue Nile rises at Lake Tana then flows from east to west to eventually join the White Nile in Sudan. The Danakil Depression in the north east sinks to 116 meters / 381 feet below sea level.