Economy – overview:
Ethiopia’s economy is based on agriculture but the government is pushing to diversify into manufacturing, textiles, and energy generation.. Coffee is a major export crop. The agricultural sector suffers from poor cultivation practices and frequent drought, but recent joint efforts by the Government of Ethiopia and donors have strengthened Ethiopia’s agricultural resilience, contributing to a reduction in the number of Ethiopians threatened with starvation. The banking, insurance, telecommunications, and micro-credit industries are restricted to domestic investors, but Ethiopia has attracted significant foreign investment in textiles, leather, commercial agriculture and manufacturing. Under Ethiopia’s constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; land use certificates are now being issued in some areas so that tenants have more recognizable rights to continued occupancy and hence make more concerted efforts to improve their leaseholds. While GDP growth has remained high, per capita income is among the lowest in the world. Ethiopia’s economy continues on its state-led Growth and Transformation Plan under the new collective leadership that followed Prime Minister MELESý?”s death. The five-year economic plan has achieved high single-digit growth rates through government-led infrastructure expansion and commercial agriculture development. Ethiopia in 2014 will continue construction of its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile ý? a controversial five billion dollar effort to develop electricity for domestic consumption and export.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$118.2 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
$110.4 billion (2012 est.)
note: data are in 2013 US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]GDP (official exchange rate):
$47.34 billion (2013 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]GDP – real growth rate:
7% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
8.5% (2012 est.)
[see also: GDP – real growth rate country ranks ]GDP – per capita:
$1,300 (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 211
$1,300 (2012 est.)
note: data are in 2013 US dollars
[see also: GDP – per capita country ranks ]Gross national saving:
18.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
18.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]GDP – composition, by end use:
household consumption: 83.1%
government consumption: 8.6%
investment in fixed capital: 26.1%
investment in inventories: 0%
exports of goods and services: 11.5%
imports of goods and services: -29.3%
agriculture: 47%
industry: 10.8%
services: 42.2% (2013 est.)Agriculture – products:
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Industries:
food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
9% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
Labor force:
45.65 million (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
Labor force – by occupation:
agriculture: 85%
industry: 5%
services: 10% (2009 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17.5% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]Population below poverty line:
39% (2012 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)
Distribution of family income – Gini index:
33 (2011)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Distribution of family income – Gini index country ranks ]Budget:
revenues: $6.702 billion
expenditures: $8.042 billion (2013 est.)Taxes and other revenues:
14.2% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 197
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-2.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
Public debt:
50.4% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
note: official data cover central government debt, including debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury and treasury debt owned by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]Fiscal year:
8 July – 7 JulyInflation rate (consumer prices):
8.4% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 198
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]Central bank discount rate:
NA%
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12% (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]Stock of narrow money:
$9.006 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]Stock of broad money:
$15.43 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]Stock of domestic credit:
$16.07 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]Current account balance:
-$2.744 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]Exports:
$3.214 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
[see also: Exports country ranks ]Exports – commodities:
coffee, khat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseedsExports – partners:
China 13%, Germany 10.8%, US 8%, Belgium 7.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.6% (2012)
Imports:
$10.68 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
[see also: Imports country ranks ]Imports – commodities:
food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textilesImports – partners:
China 13.1%, US 11%, Saudi Arabia 8.4%, India 5.4% (2012)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.382 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]Debt – external:
$11.99 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 95
[see also: Debt – external country ranks ]Exchange rates:
birr (ETB) per US dollar –
19.92 (2013 est.)
17.705 (2012 est.)
14.41 (2010 est.)
11.78 (2009)
I agree that Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most rapidly growing economies. Indeed, infrastructure and transportation are two of the primary ways the government is propelling this economic growth, and I have observed these changes during recent research trips to Ethiopia.
As construction projects transform Ethiopia, it is important also to consider what these changes will mean for ordinary interactions.
Addis Ababa, the capital, is rapidly changing with new shopping centers, housing complexes and highways being constantly constructed. The Chinese-sponsored light rail is one of the biggest changes to the city’s landscape.
The railway should reduce transportation times and connect neighborhoods in new ways. Yet it also poses new challenges and causes disruptions, as frequently used intersections, bus stops and crosswalks are blocked.
The city’s drivers and pedestrians must adapt to new ways of navigating street crossings and traversing the city as the railway redefines traffic patterns.
As light rail expands in Addis Ababa and it forges greater connections to other cities in Ethiopia and Djibouti by rail, it will continue to transform the country’s modes of transportation and its landscape.
