Browse a full set of economic indicators

Ethiopia

Includes Ethiopia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Ethiopia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Ethiopia best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Federal parliamentary republic

Capital City: Addis Ababa

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank National Bank of Ethiopia
Currency Birr (ETB)

International Reserves USD 4 billion (2018)

World Bank, data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 80.3 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 219.5 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007: 11.8%
2008: 11.2%
2009: 10%
2010: 10.6%
2011: 11.4%
2012: 8.7%
2013: 9.9%
2014: 10.3%
2015: 10.4%
2016: 8%
2017*: 10.1%
2018*: 7.7%
*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 852.8 (2018, estimate)
GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 2,332.2 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980: 0.09%
1990: 0.08%
2000: 0.07%
2010: 0.10%
2019*: 0.17%
*Estimate
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 31.1%
industry: 27.3%
services: 36.5%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2015: 9.6%
2016: 6.6%
2017: 10.7%
2018: 13.8%
2019: 14.6%
*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015: 9.6%
2016: 6.6%
2017: 10.7%
2018: 13.8%
2019: 14.6%
*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Moody’s: B1

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s

Unemployment rate N/A
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015: 54.5%
2016: 55.8%
2017: 58.6%
2018*: 61%
2019*: 59.1%
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015: -1.9%
2016: -2.3%
2017: -3.3%
2018*: -3%
2019*: -2.8%
*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
8.4% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export 0.01% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export 0.08% (2018)
Total exports USD 7.6 billion (2018 estimate)

Export 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%)
Total imports
USD 20.6 billion (2018 estimate)
Import 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%)
Exports – major partners Sudan 23.3%, Switzerland 10.2%, China 8.1%, Somalia 6.6%, Netherlands 6.2%, US 4.7%, Germany 4.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6%, UK 4.6% (2017)


Imports – major partners China 24.1%, Saudi Arabia 10.1%, India 6.4%, Kuwait 5.3%, France 5.2% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -5.3 billion (2018 estimate)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -6.5 % (2018 estimate)
FDI inflows 2016: USD 3,989 million
2017: USD 4,017 million
2018: USD 3,310 million
FDI Outflows N/A
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

159 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 168 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 142 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 137 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 142 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 176 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 189 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 132 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 156 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 67 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 149 out of 190 countries
World Bank – Doing Business 2019
Global competitiveness ranking
126 out of 141 countries (2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 137 / Score: 53.6 (Mostly unfree)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Time Zone UTC+3

Total Area 1,104,300 sq km
Total Population 1990: 46.81 million
2000: 63.5 million
2010: 82.91 million
2015: 89.76 million
2020*: 97.18 million
*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960: 6.4%
1980: 10.4%
2000: 14.7%
2018: 20.8%
Population median age
18 years
Population growth rate 2.83% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 63 years

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 68.9% (last available estimate, 2015)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
35 (last available estimate, 2015)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Not Free
Political Rights: 6
Civil Liberties: 6 (2019)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 1% Mobile: 0% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 18.62 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages Albanian 98.8% (official – derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

CIA World Factbook / Languages
Literacy Total population: 38.2%
Male: 52%
Female: 24.2%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

(age 15 and over can read and write)
Religions Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% (2011 est.)

CIA World Factbook / Religions

World Rankings

Population 97.18 M
Mercer Cost of living index Addis Ababa: 171st (2019)
C02 Emissions per capita 0.12 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Ethiopia

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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