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Profile of Cities and Regional States of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a Federal Democratic State, which has 9 federal regional states and two chartered cities. The two chartered cities are Addis Ababa /the capital/and Dire Dawa. The regional states are Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, Somali, Benishangul/Gumuz, Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples, Gambella and Harar.

Ethiopia's other important centers of commerce,trade and industry are: Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All these towns are connected to Addis Ababa by asphalt and gravel roads, and most of them have good infrastructure facilities, such as first class hotels and airports.

As stipulated in the constitution of the country, the regional and city governments have adequate power in managing their own affairs.

Each regional state has its own development policy that is set out to increase trade, investment improve infrastructure and enhance social & cultural development. By so doing focus is made at achieving food self sufficiency, providing better health and education as well as improving roads, telecommunications, banking and other services.

The following data provides major profiles of the geographic settings, resources and potential schemes for development of the chartered cities and regional states.

Addis Ababa/ The Capital /

Diplomatic Capital of Africa
Seat of the OAU , UNECA and other international institutions
- Location central
- Temperature range 9.7°C - 25.5°C
- Area 540 km²
- Population 2,424,000
- Rain fall average 1548mm(1996)
- Altitude range 2300mt- 3000mt above sea level

Major Resources and Potential Development Schemes
- Major industrial center-steel fabrication, wool, tyres, leather goods and breweries are found in and around Addis Ababa
- Major service center- major banking,insurance,telecommunications and infrastructure center of the country.
- Major urban market center - "Merkato" the biggest open market in Africa which provides diverse shopping opportunities is found in Addis Ababa
- Regional and continental hub
- as the seat of the Organization of African Unity/OAU/ the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa /UNECA/ and hosting other several multilateral institutions, Addis Ababa is one of the major centers of the continent of Africa.
-The Ethiopian Airlines
- head quartered in Addis Ababa, with destinations to several countries in the world also serves as a gateway to Africa, and connects most of African major cities with each other and with Ethiopia.
-Potential development shemes
-real estate development, telecommunications networking, health and education centers development, hotel and tourism related service development