ETHIOPIA
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Yeltyop'iya Federalawi
CAPITAL : Addis Ababa
FLAG : The national flag is a tricolor of green, yellow, and red horizontal stripes with a blue disk and a yellow outlined star and rays in the center.
ANTHEM : Traditional "Ityopia, Ityopia" is in use at the present time. A new anthem will be designated in the near future.
MONETARY UNIT : The birr ( B ) is a paper currency of 100 cents. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, and notes of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 birr. B 1 = $0.1164 (or $1 = B 8.59) as of March 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is used, but some local weights and measures also are employed.
HOLIDAYS : Holidays generally follow the Old Style Coptic Church calendar. National holidays include Christmas, 7 January; Epiphany, 19 January; Victory of Adwa (1896), 2 March; Victory Day, 6 April; May Day, 1 May; New Year's Day, 11 September; Feast of the Holy Cross, 27 September. Movable Muslim holidays include 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-'Adha'.
TIME : 3 PM = noon GMT.
FISHING
With the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopia lost access to an estimated 1,011 km (628 mi) of Red Sea coastline. In 1992, the Ethiopian and provisional Eritrean governments agreed to make Assab a free port for Ethiopia. Most Ethiopians do not eat seafood; hunting and fishing accounts for only a tiny fraction of the GDP. The catch was 10,414 tons in 1997, up from 5,318 tons in 1994.
INSURANCE
In January 1976, the 13 insurance companies operating in Ethiopia were nationalized and fused into an inclusive national insurance organization, the Ethiopian Insurance Corp. In 1994, the insurance industry was deregulated. Seven private insurance companies opened between 1994 and 1997: United, Africa, Nile, Nyala, Awash, National, and Global.
TAXATION
Many business and personal income tax rates from the former government were still in effect in 1993, ranging from 10% of monthly incomes to 85%. A 40% income tax was levied on royalties, and a 2% ad valorem turnover tax on domestic sales. On 1 January 2003, Ethiopia replaced its sales tax with a value-added tax (VAT) set at a standard rate of 12%. Exempt from the VAT were food and pharmaceuticals.
DEPENDENCIES
Ethiopia has no territories or colonies.