Alchemy World

Next Generation Africa

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is situated in the horn of Africa and currently has a population of about 79 Million people.

It is a country of great contrasts, often stunning, sometimes surprising, and full of ancient culture and a deep religious feeling.

Ethiopia was one of the very first countries to adopt Christianity as a state religion (305 A.D.). Its civilisation dates back millennia. The dominant type of Christianity in Ethiopia is Eastern Orthodox with a large Muslim minority. Until 1974, the year of the communist revolution, Ethiopia was ruled by the longest serving Imperial dynasty in the world. In ancient times, Ethiopia with the source of the Blue Nile in the centre of its territory, was an important trading partner and actually an extension of Pharaonic Upper Egypt.

In modern times, Ethiopia has had the misfortune of being torn apart twice by brutal foreign power, first by Fascist Italy and then by the Soviet Union. In both cases, acts of genocide were committed by the aggressors, and the economy was torn apart from within, to the benefit of the foreign invaders.

Today, 25 years after the period known as "red terror" when internal wars were fostered, soviet armaments were sold in outrageous quantities and ordinary farmers were recruited to fight and die, Ethiopia is the victim of a generation gap.

This ensued the tragic famines of the '80s and beyond. Furthermore from 1961 to 1991, neighbouring Eritrea fought a long war of independence against Ethiopia, which ultimately led to a referendum and peaceful separation in 1993. Through this war, Ethiopia lost access to the strategic and commercially important port of Massawa on the Red Sea.

Another Ertitrean-Ethiopian war took place from 1998 to 2000, forming one of the most dramatic conflicts in the Horn of Africa in the last decades. The two countries - although very poor - spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the war and suffered the loss of tens of thousands of their citizens who were killed or wounded as a direct consequence of the conflict

The only result was minor border changes.

Today, Ethiopia is a politically stable country under a Democratic Republic constitution. The current government is positive towards economic regeneration, and sees commerce as a key route to achieve it.

But the situation is still extremely serious:

"It was said that an estimated three million Ethiopians have been exposed to the disease (HIV/AIDS), with over 600,000 children made orphans and one third of Ethiopia's hospital beds used by carriers of the virus." - Situation Report for Ethiopia April 1999. UN Country Team Ethiopia.

Malaria is prevalent in 75 per cent of the country, putting over 50 million people at risk. During an average year an estimated 80,000 Ethiopian children die from malaria. During the last major epidemic in 2003 an estimated extra 40,000 people died from malaria. There were also up to 16 million cases of malaria - 6 million more than in an average year.

The 2006 Horn of Africa food crisis is an acute shortage of food affecting four Horn of Africa countries: Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. The United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread famine, largely attributed to a severe drought, and exacerbated by military conflicts in the region.

Demographics		Source
Population (2005)	77.4 million	World Health Organization
Different ethnic groups (2006)	83	USAID
Annual growth rate of population (2006)	2 million	Population Action International
Population under 18, in 2004 (2006)	39 million	UNICEF
Population in rural areas (2006)	85%	USAID
Population in sub-Saharan Africa (2005)	Second most populous country	World Bank
Population internally displaced by conflict (2005)	168,000	World Health Organization
Average life expectancy (2005)	42	World Bank

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Economic Status		Source
Rank of development (2006)	99 out of 203 on UNDP Human Poverty Index	World Health Organization
Per capita income (2006)	Under $100	World Health Organization
Population subsisting below $2/day (2006)	Close to 80%	World Health Organization
Population below basic needs poverty line (2002)	44%	Ethiopian Economic Association, in Haile
Population subsisting food insecure (2005)	Over 50%	World Bank
Population affected by 2003 drought (2005)	14 million	World Bank

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Reproductive Health		Source
Average births per woman (2004)	6.14	United Nations Population Division
Average number of children, rural areas (2005)	6.4	World Bank
Females giving birth before age 19 (2003)	Over 40%	Network of Ethiopian Women's Association (NEWA) and Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, in Haile
Females using contraceptives (2004)	13%	World Bank
Males using contraceptives (2004)	17%	World Bank
Rural population using modern contraceptives (2004)	4%	World Bank
Women approving family planning (2005)	60%	World Bank
Husbands approving family planning (2005)	34%	World Bank
Adults wanting family planning services to space or limit childbearing, if available (2001)	Over 45%	Central Statistical Authority and ORC Macro, in Haile
Women with access to prenatal care, in 2000 (2005)	27%	World Health Organization
Births attended by skilled personnel, from 1996-2004 (2006)	6%	UNICEF
Births in health facilities (2005)	5%	World Bank
Deaths during childbirth (2006)	850 per 100,00 livebirths	World Health Organization
Deaths from pregnancy-related causes (2000)	1 in 14 women	World Health Organization, in Haile
Deaths from pregnancy- and abortion-related causes (2006)	1 in 7 women	Population Action International
Deaths from unsafe abortions (2004)	90 per 100,000 live births	World Health Organization
Percentage of females seeking abortions who are under age 18	Over 50%	PPGG

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Primary Health		Source
Population with use of adequate sanitation facilities (2005)	15%	World Bank
Rural population with use of adequate sanitation facilities, in 2002 (2006)	4%	UNICEF
Population with use of improved drinking water sources (2005)	24%	World Bank
Population with access to public health facilities (2006)	61.3%	USAID
Population more than 10 km (6 miles) from nearest health facility (2006)	Over 50%	World Health Organization
Physicians per 100,000 people (2006)	3	World Health Organization
Population moderately to severely underweight (2006)	38%	World Health Organization
Population stunted (2006)	47%	World Health Organization
Population at-risk for malaria (2006)	3.1 million	World Health Organization
Women dying from tuberculosis (2006)	96 per 100,000	World Health Organization

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HIV/AIDS		Source
Country rank of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa (2005)	5th	World Bank
Percentage of HIV/AIDS cases in the world (2005)	7%	World Bank
Overall HIV prevalence, adults 15-49, in 2003 (2006)	4.4% of population, or 3 million people	World Health Organization
Adults infected weekly (2006)	5,000	World Health Organization
Age group with highest rate of infection	15-24 years; female prevalence 3 times greater than among males	USAID in PPGG Fact Sheet
Women living with HIV, 15-49, in 2003 (2006)	770,000	UNICEF
Mother-to-child HIV transmission	2nd highest number of new infections per year	USAID in PPGG Fact Sheet
Children dying from AIDS (2005)	1 in 16	World Health Organization
Children orphaned by AIDS, aged 0-17, 2003 estimate (2006)	720,000	UNICEF

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FGM		Source
Women aged 15-49 with FGM, from 1998-2004 (2006)	80%	UNICEF
Girls undergoing FGM	Up to 90%	United Nations

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Women's Status		Source
Women marrying before age 18	57%	National Committee of Traditional Practices of Ethiopia
Women experiencing rape, in total population (2004)	25%	World Bank

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Children's Status		Source
Newborns dying before age 1, from 1995-2000 (2005)	1 in 10	World Bank
Children dying before age 5, often from preventable diseases, from 1995-2000 (2005)	1 in 6	World Bank
Main causes of early childhood deaths (2005)	Diarrhea and pneumonia	World Bank
Orphans, 2003 estimate (2006)	4 million	UNICEF
Children under age 5 stunted from lack of nutrition (2006)	Over 50%	USAID

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Education		Source
Literacy, adults (2005)	41%	World Bank
Literacy, women (2006)	26.4%	USAID
Primary school attendance, females (2002)	50%	Ethiopian Economic Association, in Haile
Primary school attendance, males (2002)	72%	Ethiopian Economic Association, in Haile
High school attendance, females (2002)	8.5%	Ethiopian Economic Association, in Haile
High school attendance, males (2002)	12%	Ethiopian Economic Association, in Haile