The Ethiopian economy is controlled by the government, as there is little privatisation. Traditionally, the country’s economy had a slow growth rate due to the internal conflicts. However, in recent years, the GDP growth rate has been above 10%.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

(Source: imf.org)

Ethiopia’s GDP at current prices in 2010 was ETB 399.152 billion, compared to ETB 336.106 billion in 2009.

Real GDP growth rate

(Source: imf.org)

The GDP growth in 2010 was 8%, compared to 9.95% in 2009. The GDP growth rate has declined since 2007.

Gross national income (GNI) per capita

(Source: undp.org, page: 4)

Ethiopia’s GNI per capita for 2010 was USD 992, compared to USD 683 in 2005.

Income tax rate

Annual Taxable Income (ETB)	Tax Rate (%)
1,801 - 7,800	10
7,800 - 16,800	15
16,800 - 28,200	20
28,200 - 42,600	25
42,600 - 60,000	30
Above 60,000	35

(Source: mofed.gov, page: 3)

Corporate tax rate

Corporate tax rate in Ethiopia is 35%.

(Source: heritage.org)

Inflation

(Source: IMF)

Ethiopia’s inflation rate in 2010 was recorded at 2.8%, drastically decreasing from the 36.4% in 2009. Overall, the inflation rate was on the rise till 2009 and then dipped sharply.

FDI inflow

FDI inflow in Ethiopia was USD 94 million in 2009, compared to USD 109 million in 2008. In the long run, the FDI inflow in Ethiopia has declined since 2006.

 

(Source: UNCTAD)

Banking sector assets

 

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 2)

Net foreign assets at the end of 2009 amounted to ETB 17,976.8 million, compared to ETB 12,140.6 million assests in 2008.

Consumer price index

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 1)

Base, December 2006 = 100

The CPI in March 2010 was 179.6, increasing from 176.7 in December 2009.

Interest rates on saving deposits

 

Interest Rates on Saving Deposits	Public Banks Rate (%)	Private Banks Rate (%)
Q1 2010	4	4.50
Q4 2009	4	4.50
Q3 2009	4	4.50
Q2 2009	4	4.50
Q1 2009	4	4.50

 

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 4)

Interest rates on saving deposits have been constant since 2009. Currently, the interest rates on saving deposits of public banks is 4% and the interest rates on saving deposits in private banks is 4.50%.

Interest rates on time deposits

The interest rates on the time deposits of public banks was 4% and for private banks it was 4.15% in Q1 2010.

 

Interest Rates on Time Deposits	Public Banks Rate (%)	Private Banks Rate (%)
Q1 2010	4	4.15
Q4 2009	4	4.65
Q3 2009	4	5.13
Q2 2009	4	4.95
Q1 2009	4	5.39

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 4)

Money supply (currency in circulation)

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 6)

Total narrow money supply for the first quarter of 2010 was ETB 48,116.20 million; quasi money was ETB 47,931.11 million; and broad money was ETB 96,047.32 million.

Government Expenditure

(Source:IMF)

The total expenditure in 2010 was ETB 72.06 billion, compared to ETB 57.77 billion in 2009.

Public debt levels

The external public debt in 2009 was USD 4,390 million, compared to USD 2,907 million in 2008.

(Source: UNECA)

Official exchange rate

ETB per US dollar rate for Q1 2010 was 13.38.

(Source: UNECA)

Government finances

Fiscal balance/ government net lending

Fiscal Balance (ETB million)
2010	-6.034
2009	-3.147
2008	-7.21
2007	-6.182
2006	-5.025
2005	-4.425

(Source:IMF)

Total revenue

(Source:IMF)

The total revenue for 2010 amounted to ETB 66.02 billion, compared to ETB 54.63 billion in 2009.

Tax revenue

Total tax revenue collected in Ethiopia for Q3 2010 amounted to ETB 7,658 million, increasing 42.90% from the Q3 2009 value of ETB 5,359 million.

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia)

Total grants

Total grants for Q4 2010 amounted to ETB 2,653 million, compared to ETB 60 million for Q3 2009.

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia)

Current account balance

(Source: IMF)

The current account deficit in 2010 was estimated to be 3.95% of the GDP, decreasing from a deficit of 5.01% in 2009.

Balance of payments

Balance of Payments (USD million)
	Q3 2010	Q3 2009
Trade Balance	-1,621.9	-1,321.6
Exports	555.9	401.6
Imports	2,177.9	1,723.1
Current Account Balance (excl. public transfers)	-601.4	-637.6
Public Transfers	562.2	218.0
Current Account Balance (incl. public transfers)	-39.3	-419.7
Overall Balance	246.1	312.9

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia, page: 1)

Labour force

(Source: World Bank)

The labour force in Ethiopia was 39,952,287.5 people in 2009, increasing 4.72% from the previous year’s 38,152,271.6 labour population.

Labour force participation rate

Labour force participation rate for 2009 was 85%. Specifically, the rate for males and females was 90% and 81% respectively.

(Source: World Bank)

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate for 2008 was 16.7%.

(Source: UN)

Employment in agriculture

Employment in agriculture for 2006 made up 8.6% of total employment.

(Source: World Bank)

Minimum wage

Ethiopia has no minimum wage legislation.  Thus, the minimum wage is decided by individual enterprises. For example, public sector employees earned a minimum wage of ETB 320 per month, and banking sector employees earned a monthly wage of ETB 336.

(Source: minimum-wage.org)

Level of unionisation

The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) is the national centre of trade unions in the country.

(Source: ICFTU)

Government stability

The federal republic of Ethiopia is headed by the president.  Alternatively the federal government is headed by the executive prime minister.  Additonally, each autonomous state is headed by a state president, elected by the state council.

(Source: mfa.gov, state.gov)

The parliament is bicameral and is comprised of the Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete, or the House of Peoples' Representatives, and the Yefedereshein Mekir Bete, or the House of the Federation. The House of Peoples' Representatives is made up of 547 members, who are directly elected for a term of five years. The House of the Federation is comprised of 135 members, who are elected for a five year term.

(Source: IPU)

The political parties in Ethiopia are Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and other small parties.

(Source: state.gov)

The last parliamentary elections were held on May 23, 2010, and the next elections will be held in 2015.

The next presidential elections will be in Oct, 2013.

(Source: electionguide.org)

Regulatory environment

(Source: heritage.org)

The Economic Freedom score for Ethiopia is 50.5, making its economy the 144^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. The country is ranked 30^th out of the 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Thus, the country’s economic freedom score is less than the world and regional average.

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Ethiopia is ranked 116^th, with a score of 2.7, which indicates that corruption levels in public departments in the country are fairly high.

(Source: transparency.org)

Freedom of information

Ethiopia is ranked 139^th in the World Press Freedom Index 2010 with a score of 49.38, which indicates that media in Ethiopia is restricted. Restrictions include the media's ability to express and write about their views on the government and political authorities.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers

• Addis Zemen
• Ethiopian Herald
• The Daily Monitor
• Addis Admass
• The Reporter
• Capital
• Addis Fortune

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

Ethiopia’s judicial system consists of a Federal Judiciary with a Supreme Court, and a separate and parallel judicial system in each regional state. The Federal Supreme Court, the Federal High Court and the Federal First Instance Court constitute a single Federal Judiciary, with the Supreme Court bearing the highest judicial authority in the country.

The judges of the courts at the federal level are appointed by the House of Peoples Representatives.  The regional level judges are appointed by the Regional State Council in consultation with the Federal Judicial Administration Commission and the State Judicial Administration Commission.

(Source: ethiopiaembassy)

Population

The population of Ethiopia in 2010 was estimated at 84.8 million, increasing 2.4% from the 2009 population of 82.81 million.

(Source: IMF)

Gender balance

In 2010, the gender ratio was 101.6 males for every 100 females.

(Source: UNDP, page: 195)

Population age structure

In 2009, individuals aged below 14 constituted 43.5% of the total population.

(Source: UN)

Median Age

The median age increased from 17.4 years in 1990 to 18 years in 2010

(Source: UNDP, page: 195)

Life expectancy

In Ethiopia, life expectancy in 2010 was 56.1 years. Specifically, the life expectancy for males and females was recorded at 53.6 years and 56.5 years respectively.

(Source: UNDP, UN)

Mortality rate

The mortality rate of infants below five was 104 (per 1,000 live births) in 2009.

(Source: UNICEF)

Death rate and birth rate

The death rate was 12 (per 1,000 population) and birth rate was 38 (per 1,000 population) in 2009.

(Source: UNICEF)

Migration and urbanisation

International migrant stock, recorded in mid 2010, was 548,000 people, making up 0.6% of the entire population.

(Source: UN)

In 2007, 16.6% population was classified as urban. Between 2005 and 2010 the urban and rural populations grew at an annual average rate of 2.2% and 4.3% respectively.

(Source: UN)

Racial/ ethnic environment

Some ethnic groups in Ethiopia are Oromo, Amhara, Tigre, Somali, Sidama, Gurage, Wolaita, and Afar. Some of the practiced religions are Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, Muslim, Protestant, and indigenous beliefs.

(Source: state.gov)

Human development index (HDI)

Ethiopia is ranked 157^th and scored 0.328 on UNDP's (United Nations Development Program) Human Development Index (HDI) 2010. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). 

(Source: undp.org)

Literacy Rate

Ethiopia’s adult literacy rate 2010 was estimated to be 35.9%.

(Source: UNDP)

Education

Ethiopia has both government and non-government schools.

Government schools in the country are operated by Regional Education Bureaus, Ministries of Education, Public Health, Agriculture, Transport and Communications, Universities and Colleges, among others.

Non-government schoolsinclude public, religious missions, Orthodox Church and foreign communities, as well as schools run by different organisations.

The combined gross enrolment ratio in 2010 was 49%. The expenditure on education makes up about 5.5% of the country’s GDP.

(Source: Statistics, page: 2, UNDP)

Health

The health care system includes Health Posts (HP) and Health Centres. The Health Centres provide basic medical care to the population and also act as referral and technical assistance centres for Health Extension Workers. The Ministry of Health has recently initiated a Primary Health Care (PHC) service expansion to meet the medical needs of the Ethiopian population.

The health status of Ethiopia is poor compared to other countries, primarily due to infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies.

The leading causes of death in Ethiopia include HIV/ AIDS and malaria. Approximately 125,000 new cases of HIV are reported in a year.

(Source: Ministry of Health)

Public transit

Mass public transport in Ethiopia is provided through roadways and railways.

Roadways

In 2008-09, the total length of roads in Ethiopia was 46,812 km.

(Source: Bank of Ethiopia)

Ports

The major ports in Ethiopia are Aseb and Mitsiwa.

(Source: photius.com)

Airports

(Source: aircraft-charter-world)

Telecommunication

In 2009, the country had 915,058 fixed telephone line subscribers, compared to 897,287 users in 2008.

(Source: ITU)

(Source: ITU)

The country had 4,051,703 mobile cellular subscribers in 2009, drasticly increased from the 1,954,527 users in 2008.

Additonally in 2009, Ethiopia had 360,000 internet users, making up 0.4% of the total population.

(Source: internetworldstats.com)