Economy - overview:
Ethiopia has grown at a rate between 8% and 11% annually for more than a decade and the country is the fifth-fastest growing economy among the 188 IMF member countries. This growth has been driven by sustained progress in the agricultural and service sectors. Ethiopia has the lowest level of income-inequality in Africa and one of the lowest in the world, with a Gini coefficient comparable to that of the Scandinavian countries. Yet despite progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, due both to rapid population growth and a low starting base. Changes in rainfall associated with world-wide weather patterns resulted in the worst drought in thirty years in 2015/2016, creating food insecurity for millions of Ethiopians.Almost 80% of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural sector, but services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to tenants. Since 2005, the Ethiopian government has introduced a system to register traditional land use rights and provide certificates documenting these rights. Initial surveys show that land-use certificates have significantly increased the willingness of farmers to invest in improvements on their land, from terracing to irrigation. However, title rights in urban areas, particularly Addis Ababa, are poorly regulated, and subject to corruption.Ethiopia’s export earnings are led by the services sector - primarily Ethiopian airlines - followed by several commodities. While coffee remains the largest foreign exchange earner, Ethiopia is diversifying exports and commodities such as gold, sesame, khat, livestock and horticulture products are becoming increasingly important. Manufacturing represents less than 8% of total exports. 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 light manufacturing.Ethiopia remains a one-party state with a planned economy. In the fall of 2015, the government finalized and published the current 2016-2020 five year plan, known as the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). GTP II emphasizes developing manufactures in sectors where Ethiopia has a comparative advantage in exporting, including textiles and garments, leather goods, and processed agricultural products. New infrastructure projects are to include power production and distribution, roads, rails, airports and industrial parks. To support industrialization, Ethiopia plans to increase power generation by 8,320 MW, up from an installed capacity of 2,000 MW, by building three more major dams and expanding to other sources of renewable energy. Construction is underway on an electric railway network that will connect Ethiopia to all its neighbors, with a link to the Port of Djibouti already finished and partially functioning. A tripling of capacity at the international airport in Addis Ababa to 25 million passengers will be completed in 2017, while construction of a completely new airport is being planned by 2025. Meanwhile, the domestic airport network has expanded to nineteen airports in a country where mountains and deserts make developing and maintaining a road network challenging. Despite difficult topography, more than a hundred thousand kilometers of roads have been built, connecting previously isolated regions.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$174.7 billion (2016 est.) $164.1 billion (2015 est.) $148.9 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: GDP country ranks ]

GDP (official exchange rate):
$69.22 billion (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]

GDP - real growth rate:
6.5% (2016 est.) 10.2% (2015 est.) 10.3% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,900 (2016 est.) $1,800 (2015 est.) $1,700 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
country comparison to the world: 207
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]

Gross national saving:
29% of GDP (2016 est.) 31.7% of GDP (2015 est.) 30.2% of GDP (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 65.9%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption: 10.2%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - government consumption country ranks ]
investment in fixed capital: 37.6%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in fixed capital country ranks ]
investment in inventories: -0.1%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in inventories country ranks ]
exports of goods and services: 8.7%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - exports of goods and services country ranks ]
imports of goods and services: -22.3% (2016 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - imports of goods and services country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 36.2%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 17%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - industry country ranks ]
services: 46.8% (2016 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - services country ranks ]

Agriculture - products:
cereals, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, khat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish

Industries:
food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, garments, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
9% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]

Labor force:
50.97 million (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 85%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 5%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 10% (2009 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]

Unemployment rate:
17.5% (2012 est.) 18% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]

Population below poverty line:
29.6% (2014 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 25.6% (2005)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33 (2011) 30 (2000)
country comparison to the world: 104
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]

Budget:
revenues: $10.07 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $11.85 billion (2016 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]

Taxes and other revenues:
14.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 191
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-2.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]

Public debt:
54.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 49.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
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 intragov
country comparison to the world: 77
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]

Fiscal year:
8 July - 7 July

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.1% (2016 est.) 10.1% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 201
[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:
12.2% (31 December 2016 est.) 11.5% (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]

Stock of narrow money:
$14.43 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $11.97 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]

Stock of broad money:
$28 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $24.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]

Stock of domestic credit:
$36.33 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $28.41 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
[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:
-$7.427 billion (2016 est.) -$7.392 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 176
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]

Exports:
$2.932 billion (2016 est.) $2.935 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
[see also: Exports country ranks ]

Exports - commodities:
coffee (27%, by value), oilseeds (17%), edible vegetables including khat (17%), gold (13%), flowers (7%), live animals (7%), raw leather products (3%), meat products (3%)

Exports - partners:
Switzerland 14.3%, China 11.7%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.9%, Germany 5.7% (2015)

Imports:
$14.7 billion (2016 est.) $15.87 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Imports country ranks ]

Imports - commodities:
machinery and aircraft (14%, by value), metal and metal products, (14%), electrical materials, (13%), petroleum products (12%), motor vehicles, (10%), chemicals and fertilizers (4%)

Imports - partners:
China 20.4%, US 9.2%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, India 4.5% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.956 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $3.113 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]

Debt - external:
$22.49 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $19.04 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]

Exchange rates:
birr (ETB) per US dollar - 23.25 (2016 est.) 21.55 (2015 est.) 21.55 (2014 est.) 19.8 (2013 est.) 17.71 (2012 est.)