Email this Link Email this Link Print this Snapshot Print Snapshot

Export this Snapshot Export Snapshot to PDF
Country Snapshot - Ethiopia  

HighlightsRankingsQuantitative DataLegislationAnalytical WorkProject Portfolio
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Low income
  • 84,975,606 (2011)
  • 380
Ethiopia Flag
Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile.

  1. Doing Business 2011 reports that Ethiopia made trading easier by addressing internal bureaucratic inefficiencies, which allowed the country to jump 2 spots in the Trading Across Borders Indicator. Other significant improvements were recorded in the Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits and Registering Property Indicators. Ethiopia is ranked 159th out of 183 economies in 2011.
  2. According to the latest Enterprise Surveys (2006), the major constraints to investment in Ethiopia include Access to Finance, Access to Land and Practices of the Informal Sector. In Ethiopia, 46% of firms report having lines of credit or loans from financial institutions, compared to 22% regionally.
  3. Among the 21 countries covered by the Investing Across Sectors indicators in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, Ethiopia presents foreign equity ownership restrictions above average for the region. It imposes restrictions on foreign equity ownership in many sectors, in particular the service industries. Of the 33 sectors covered by the indicators, 13 are closed to foreign capital participation. The list of sectors in which FDI is prohibited includes the telecommunications industry (including fixed-line and mobile/wireless services and infrastructure), the financial services industry (insurance and banking), the media sectors (TV broadcasting and newspaper publishing), the transportation industry, and the retail sector.
  4. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Ethiopia’s score is 50.5, making its economy the 144th freest out of 183 countries in the 2011 Index. Its overall score is 0.7 point lower than last year, reflecting declines in four of the 10 economic freedoms that were partially offset by gains elsewhere. Ethiopia is ranked 30th out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is just below the regional average. Despite the global economic downturn, Ethiopia’s economy has recorded annual economic expansion of around 11 percent over the past five years, facilitated by improved infrastructure and more effective mining and farming techniques. However, growth remains highly vulnerable to external shocks.