Federations of the World

Federation Maps and Fact Sheets

Ethiopia
Federalism first introduced in 1952
Current federal Constitution adopted in 1994
Official Website of the federal government of Ethiopia

Constituent units

• 9 states: Afar; Amhara; Beneshangul/Gumuz; Gambella; Harar; Oromia; Somalia; Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples; Tigray.
  2 Chartered cities:  Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa
  • Map of the states of Ethiopia
  • Fact sheets on the states of Ethiopia

Constitutional distribution of power

• Constitution of Ethiopia, in particular:
  • Powers and Functions of the Federal Government (Chapter 5, Article 51)
  • Powers and Functions of states (Chapter 5, Article 52)
    (Source: Parliament of Ethiopia)

Legislative institutions

• Federal: Bicameral parliament composed of the House of the Federation and the House of the People's Representatives. Members of the House of the Federation can be elected by the state assemblies or by the people directly.
  • Fact sheet on the House of Federation
  • Official Website of the House of the Federation
  • Official Website of the House of People's Representatives
• States: Unicameral legislatures

Official language

The Constitution states that Amharic is the working language of the Federal Government. It also stipulates that each state may by law determine its working language(s). More than 80 languages and 200 dialects are spoken in Ethiopia.

• Constitution of Ethiopia, in particular: Chapter 1, Article 5.
 

Other links of interest

• Basic information
• Ethiopia: Profile of the Country
• Brief History of Ethiopian Parliament
• Federations magazine (Forum of Federations), notably;
• Ethiopia: the challenge of many nationalities, Vol. 1, No. 5 / Summer 2001 (PDF)