Ethiopia
STATUS: Independent Nation (from Italy, 1941)
CAPITAL: Addis Ababa
WORLD LOCATION: East Africa
FIRST LICENSE PLATES IN USE: 1930's
MOTOR VEHICLES CURRENTLY REGISTERED: Approx. 60,000
PLATES ARE: Officially issued.
Passenger plates - blue on
white with a green number 2 code, prefixed by two Amharic code letters.
Motorcycle plates - similar
in color and codes to all full sized issues, but in a smaller square sized
format, on two lines.
Diplomatic - black on white
plates, with black on orange bands on each end. Number is two Embassy code
numbers, the capital city code number, and three serial numbers. The orange
bands contain the western and Amharic equiv. of CD.
United Nations Personnel -
white on blue plates, with three numbers, suffixed by UN. UN vehicles with
diplomatic status also have the orange CD bands.
Organization of African Unity
personnel vehicles - green on white, with OAU in Amharic and western scripts.
Black on orange CD bands are used in cases of diplomatic status.
Non-Governmental Aid vehicles
- red on orange, two numbers, a hyphen, and three more numbers. On each end
is a two letter code indicating the province of issue - both in Amharic and
western characters.
Temporary - white on orange
with green diagonal stripes. Number consists of the Amharic town code, followed
by three numbers, with more Amharic lettering across the top.
Customs House - red on white
with blue diagonal stripes. Three numbers, with Amharic lettering across
the top.
Construction Vehicles and Tractors
- green on yellow, with white diagonal corners, with the provincial code,
full legend, and four numbers.
Horse Draw Carts - green on
yellow, with a two letter Amharic code on a white band to the left of a three
digit number, as well as the provincial code.
Air Force Vehicles - black
on white, with the red/yellow/green Ethiopian "roundel". I've seen photos
of plates that also have the Ethiopian tri-color superimposed over a map
of Africa.
Army Vehicles - white on black,
with a red/green square to the left of the number.
Navy Vehicles - blue on white,
with a fancy "anchor" graphic prefix symbol.
Police Vehicles - blue on yellow,
with three Amharic code letters, three digit number on plate.
The President - no plates are
used on the President's vehicle.
Taxi - white on red plates,
with a red on white "1" code number.
Trucks - white on green (also
seen in green on white), with a "3" code number.
Administration Vehicles - yellow
on blue, with a blue on white "4" code number.
Ethiopian Organizational Issues
- all are blue on orange, with an orange on blue "5" code. The following
additional symbols and/or prefix numbers are used to designate the branch
of service:
PREFIX NUMBER 1 - Ethiopian Trade Unions
PREFIX NUMBER 2 - Ethiopian Peasant's Association
PREFIX NUMBER 3 - Ethiopian Youth Association
PREFIX NUMBER 4 - Ethiopian Women's Association
PREFIX NUMBER 5, also with a red on white "cross in circle" logo - Red Cross Society
Early examples of Ethiopian plates were recently white on black embossed plates, with Amharic code letters for the town of issue.
SINGLE PLATES OR PAIRS: Pairs
OVAL: ETH
CARS DRIVE ON: Right
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