Ethiopia

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a landlocked country covering 1,126,829km2 and is s located on the Horn of Africa. Under Ethiopia’s constitution, all Ethiopian languages enjoy official state recognition which include Amharic, Afan Oromo, Afar, Somali and Tigrigna, while English is widely spoken. It has a population of 126.5m people and a GDP of US$205.13bn and the local currency is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB) It is bounded by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and South Sudan and Sudan to the west.\r\n\r\nIts economy is the 5th largest in Africa and GDP grew by 7.1% in 2022/2023 and us forecast to grow by 6.7% in 2024. Services account for 40% of GDO, industry 28% and agriculture 32%. The consistently high economic growth over the last decade resulted in positive trends in poverty reduction in both urban and rural areas. The share of the population living below the national poverty line decreased from 30% in 2011 to 24% in 2016 and human development indicators improved as well. \r\n\r\n The government has launched a 10-Year Development Plan, based on its 2019 Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda, which runs from 2020/21 to 2029/30. The plan aims to sustain the high growth achieved under the Growth and Transformation Plans of the previous decade while facilitating the shift towards a more private-sector-driven economy. It also aims to foster efficiency and introduce competition in key growth-enabling sectors (energy, logistics, and telecom), improve the business climate, and address macroeconomic imbalances.\r\n\r\nRecently the government opened up telecoms industry to the private sector, offering two telecom operator licences and indicating it will sell 40% of state owned Ethio Telecom. As of January 2021, internet users in Ethiopia reached 23.96 million and internet penetration stood 20.6%. The number of mobile connections in Ethiopia in January 2021 was equivalent to 38.5% of the total population.\r\n\r\nEthiopian Airlines was established in 1946 and has grown to the largest airline in Africa with a fleet of approximately 140 it has become the de facto aviation hub of East Africa.\r\nThe involvement of foreign companies in the construction industry is dominated by Chinese companies and this industry was valued at US$41bn in revenue in 2021 and is projected to grow at an annual average growth rate of more than 8% from 2023 to 2026. The Ten Years Development Plan, which will run from 2020-2030 touches all aspects of development, including infrastructure development, and includes the objective of public-private partnerships.\r\n\r\nInstalled generation capacity in Ethiopia stands at 4,206MW and several power projects still to be completed include Gilgel Gibe IV hydroelectric, expected to generate 2,160MW 2022 and The Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam, with a projected installed capacity of 5,600MW. Ethiopia has abundant renewable energy resources and has the potential to generate over 60,000 megawatts (MW) of electric power from hydroelectric, wind, solar, and geothermal sources. Additionally, in 2022 the GOE certified the presence of seven trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in the Ogaden Basin.\r\n\r\nAs a landlocked country, Ethiopia relies heavily on the port of neighbouring Djibouti for the import and export of goods. Port Sudan in neighbouring Sudan and Port Berbera in neighbouring Somalia are used to a lesser degree. Ethiopia has built seven inland ports in Modjo, Kallity, Semera, Mekelle, Dire Dawa, Gelan and Kombolcha with an installed handling capacity of 22,000 containers.\r\n\r\nEthiopia’s main exports are gold (21% of total exports) and coffee (19%), and other exports include live animals, oilseeds and flowers.\r\n

Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF.