Economy of Ethiopia
The economy of Ethiopia is largely based on agriculture, which accounts for 46.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 85% of total employment.
Ethiopia has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is Africa's second most populous country. Many properties owned by the government during the previous regime have now been privatized and are in the process of privatization. However, certain sectors such as telecommunications, financial and insurance services, air and land transportation services, and retail, are considered as strategic sectors and are expected to remain under state control for the foreseeable future. Almost 50% of Ethiopia's population is under the age of 18, and even though education enrollment at primary and tertiary level has increased significantly, job creation has not caught up with the increased output from educational institutes. The country must create hundreds of thousands of jobs every year just to keep up with population growth.
The current government has embarked on a program of economic reform, including privatization of state enterprises and rationalization of government regulation. While the process is still ongoing, the reforms have begun to attract much-needed foreign investment. Despite recent improvements, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest nations in the world.
Sectors
Agriculture
The economy of Ethiopia is based on agriculture, which accounts for 46.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. Yet agriculture is the country's most promising resource. A potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock, grains, vegetables, and fruits. As many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually.
Agriculture accounts for almost 41 percent of GDP, 80 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the labour force. Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products.
Forestry
Forest products are mainly logs used in construction. Paper industry does not exist, and the silvicutural properties are used in construction and manufacturing, and as energy sources.
Fishing
Ethiopia's fisheries are entirely freshwater, as it has no marine coastline, and are a small part of the economy.
Minerals and mining
The mining sector is small in Ethiopia. The country has deposits of coal, opal, gemstones, kaolin, iron ore, soda ash, and tantalum, but only gold is mined in significant quantities.
Energy
Waterpower and forests are Ethiopia's main energy sources. The country derives about 90 percent of its electricity needs from hydropower, which means that electricity generation, as with agriculture, is dependent on abundant rainfall.
Manufacturing
This sector constitutes about 4 percent of the overall economy, although it has shown some growth and diversification in recent years. Food and beverages constitute some 40 percent of the sector, but textiles and leather are also important, the latter especially for the export market.