54 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Sector	% age Contribution to GDP(2007)
Agriculture	51.20%
Electricity and water	1.50%
Manufacturing	4%
Contruction	5.20%
Wholesale and retail trade and Restaurants and Hotels	15.20%
Transport and Communications	4.10%
Real Estate and Business activites	8.70%
Mining and Quarying	0.40%
Other Services	9.60%

Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in the year 2005 the IMF forgave Ethiopia's debt. Under the Ethiopian constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants this system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans.

Agriculture

The Ethiopian economy is agriculture based and accounts for about 50% of the gross domestic product, 60% of exports and 80% of total employment.

Ethiopia's agriculture sector is hampered by periodic drought, soil degradation which is  caused by overgrazing, deforestation, high population density, high levels of taxation and poor infrastructure thus it becomes difficult and expensive to get goods to market. Still agriculture is considered as the country's most promising resource and source of income. There is a huge potential existing in Ethiopia to become   self-sufficient in grains and for export development in livestock, grains, vegetables, and fruits. As many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually.

Many other economic activities are present in Ethiopia which greatly depends on agriculture activity in Ethiopia like marketing, processing and export of agricultural products. Production in subsistence agriculture is overwhelming and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Prominent crops in Ethiopia include coffee, pulses (e.g., beans), oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables. Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities with coffee as the largest foreign exchange earner and its flower industry becoming a new source of revenue for 2005/2006. The coffee exports in the region, represents 0.9% of the world exports and oilseeds & flowers each representing 0.5%. Ethiopia is Africa's second largest maize producer. The livestock population in Ethiopia is believed to be the largest in Africa.

Industry and manufacturing

The industry sector of Ethiopia contributes to about 4 percent of the overall economy, though it has shown some growth and diversification in recent years. Much of this sector is concentrated in Addis Ababa. Food and beverages constitute some 40 percent of the sector though textiles and leather are also important segments the latter especially for the export market. There is a program to privatize state-owned enterprises which has been underway since the late 1990s.

Energy

Apart from the waterpower and forests, Ethiopia is not well endowed with energy sources. The country is deriving about 90 percent of its electricity needs from hydropower thus explaining that electricity generation along with agriculture is dependent on abundant rainfall. Presently installed capacity is rated at about 650 megawatts and the expected planned expansion to 1,330 megawatts. Ethiopians rely on forests for nearly all of their energy and construction needs, the result has been deforestation of much of the highlands during the last three decades.

Only 50% of the Ethiopian cities and towns are connected to the national grid. The petroleum requirements of the nation are met via imports of refined products, although some oil is being hauled overland from Sudan. In the country the oil exploration has been underway for decades now. Ever since, the Emperor Haile Sealssie granted a 50-year concession to SOCONY-Vacuum in September 1945.

Tourism

The tourism industry in Ethiopia accounts for about 5.5% of the country's Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 which has barely increased 2% over the previous year. The government in Ethiopia is proving its commitment and willingness to develop the tourism sector through a number of initiatives. It has featured as a component of Ethiopia's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) which aims to deal with  poverty and encourage economic development in the country.

Tourist destinations of Ethiopia include collection of National parks which include the Semien Mountains National Park and historic sites which include the cities of Axum and Lalibela.

Developed during the 60s, the tourism sector declined greatly during the later 70s and the 80s under the Derg. Recovery began in the 1990s, but growth has been constrained due to the lack of suitable infrastructure, even after a boom in construction of the small and medium-sized hotels and restaurants, and by the effects of drought and political instability.
The encouraging aspect of the Ethiopian tourism sector is the growing popularity of ecotourism which brings in a significant amount of potential opportunities. Retail sales in tourism are expected to continue to grow, posting an increase of 7% in 2006 and with a forecast 5% increase in 2007. Sales are primarily driven the growing interest in ecotourism packages and including adventure travel, trekking and walking safaris.

Transport

Before the 1998–2000 Ethiopian–Eritrean war, landlocked Ethiopia majorly relied on the seaports of Asseb and Massawa in Eritrea for international trade. As of 2005, Ethiopia has been using the ports of Djibouti, connected to Addis Ababa by the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway and also the Sudan port but in a lesser extent. In May 2005, the Ethiopian government began negotiations to use the port of Berbera in Somaliland. Ethiopia has built 23,812 kilometers of all-weather roads, 15% are asphalt. Mountainous terrain and the lack of good roads and the insufficient amount of vehicles make land transportation difficult. However, the government owns an excellent airline. Ethiopian Airlines serves 38 domestic airfields and has 42 international destinations.

Mining and Minerals

The minerals sector contributes less than 1% to the economy. The main mineral of export is gold. The state-owned Ethiopian Mineral Resources Development Corporation (EMRDC) is involved with the development and production of mineral resources.

Even though modern mining is recent in Ethiopia, gold has traditionally been mined from alluvial and, to a lesser extent, primary free gold since ancient times. The modern gold mining techniques have only been used since the 30’s in the Bedakesa Valley of the Adola area in Southern Ethiopia. Later exploration has resulted in the discovery of the Lega Dembi deposit and other minerals.

Current mining activities also include the production of tantalite (50 tn/year) and soda ash (20,000 t/year). The only formal tantalum mining operation is the Kenticha Mine, operated by Ethiopian Mines Development Share Company. The mining of kaolin dimension stones like limestone marble and granite and small scale and artisanal mining of precious metals, gemstone, salt, industrial minerals and construction materials are the main mining activities in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has located some coal reserves in three separate areas in Ethiopia estimated at containing 61 Mt of coal (all lignite). Additional reserves have apparently been located in the Western part of the country.

For Further Reference

African Economic Outlook

BBC News

World Bank