FDRE States-Basic Information, Addis Ababa

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Addis Ababa City Council

The Charter of the City Council	Major Economic Activities	Topography and Climate
Location	Tourism and Heritage	Population
Area / Sq. Km.	Investment	Livestock

Addis Ababa comprises 6 zones and 28 woredas. The city is divided into 328 dwelling associations (Kebeles) of which 305 are urban and 23 rural. The city council is made up of 18 bureaus, offices and authorities. Amharic is the working language of the city administration.

Addis Ababa is the diplomatic capital of Africa. More than 92 embassies and consular representatives cluster in the city where the Organization of African Unity and the UN Economic Commission for Africa have their headquarters.

LOCATION

Addis Ababa is located in the heart of the country surrounded by Oromia. AREA Addis Ababa covers about 540 Km²of which 18.2 Km²are rural. POPULATION According to the 1994 census, the population of Addis Ababa is 2.3 million of which 28,149 are living in the rural parts of the city. Of the total population 51.6% are females while 48.4% are male.

As capital of the country, Addis Ababa is a city where, despite differences in number, almost all-ethnic groups live in. However, the major ethnic groups are, Amharas 48.3%, Oromos 19.2%, Guragies 17.5%, Tigrains 7.6%, and others all together 7.4%.

Regarding religion, 82% of the population are Orthodox Christians, 12.7% Muslims, 3.9% Protestants, 0.8% Catholics, and 0.6% followers of other religions (Hindus, Jews, Bauhaus, Jehovah, Athnostics…).

TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE Addis Ababa lies between 2,200 and 2,500 meters above sea level. The city lies at the foot of the 3,000 meters high Entoto Mountains.

Despite its proximity to the equator, Addis Ababa enjoys a mild, Afro-Alpine temperate and warm temperate climate. The lowest and the highest annual average temperature is between 9.89 and 24.640⁰c. The city rambles pleasantly across many wooden hillsides and gullies cut through with fast flowing streams especially during the rainy seasons from July-September.

MAJOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES The day to day life activities of the city's population is predominantly based on different sorts of occupation. These include, 119,197 in trade and commerce; 113,977 in manufacturing and industry;80,391 home makers of different variety; 71,186 in civil administration; 50,538 in transport and communication; 42,514 in education, health and social services; 32,685 in hotel and catering services; and 16,602 in agriculture. Besides the residents of rural parts of Addis Ababa, the city dwellers also participate in animal husbandry and cultivation of gardens. Currently 677 hectares of land is irrigated annually, on which 129,880 quintals of vegetables are cultivated. LIVESTOCK The estimated livestock population of the city is 58,568 cattle, 28,244 sheep and goats, 5,531 equines, 539 beehives, 39,000 poultry, and 36,684 other domestic animals. TOURISM The Entoto St. Mary Museum, at 3,200 meters above sea level, harbors articles of historical significans (crowns, drum of the march to the march to the battle of Adwa, ceremonial dresses of Emperor Menelik and Empress Taitu etc…). The National Museum of Ethiopia is also endowed with the earliest hominid skeletons of Lucy (3.4 million years) and Ramidus (4.4 million years old), as well as jewelry, costumes, paintings and sculptures. Ethnographic Museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies is another tourist attraction. The Zoological Natural History Museum displays, from Ethiopia's wild life wealth, the sizabel proportion of which are endemic species of rodents, bats, carnivores, primates, birds, snakes, lizards, amphibians, fishes and invertebrates.

The city also presents to its visitor's church museums with their fascinating wall paintings and remains of kings in the underground crypt. Century old stamps in the Ethiopian Postal Museum, photographs depicting the development of the city (at Addis Ababa Museum), and parks, where lions and cubs, monkeys and baboons are caged are some of the spots to visitors.

INVESTMENT According to the October 1997 five-year draft plan (1997-2002) of the Addis Ababa City Administration, 52,480 private investment projects have been licensed for the last 6 years (1992-1997). The figures indicate that these newly approved projects for the last 6 years have already surpassed all investment undertakings of the city prior to 1991. The total amount of capital investment during the last 6 years is around 18 billion Birr. More than 150,000 persons will benefit from the employment opportunity of the investment. Licenses were given in areas predominantly of industrial, real states, trade and commerce, hotel and tourism as will as handcrafts. So far within five years time, the investment in the city could be able to reduce, the total unemployment rate by 10%, which was 40% for the city. Addis Ababa alone takes about 54% of the total investment in Ethiopia, according to the draft plan.