<
http://www.africaw.com/major-problems-facing-ethiopia-today> Major
problems facing Ethiopia today
10/09/2014
Ethiopia, the land of the great Emperor Haile Selassie, is a land of many
lands and a kingdom of many kingdoms. Ethiopia is now a landlocked country
located at the north-eastern part of Africa (the horn of Africa). Ethiopia
follows Nigeria (Nigeria has a population of about 178 million people) as
the second most populous country in all of Africa with a population of about
92 million people with the population growth rate around 3.6%. Ethiopia
shares borders with the Republic of Kenya to the south, the Republic of
Eritrea to the North (Eritrea used to be part of Ethiopia. The separation
made Ethiopia a landlocked country), the Republic of Sudan to the West, and
the Republics of Djibouti and Somalia to the East. Ethiopia has a total land
area of about 1,100,000 squared kilometers.
Ethiopia is blessed with abundance of natural resources such as gold,
Potash, unexploited natural gas or Methane, copper and platinum. Meanwhile,
Ethiopia has the second largest poor population in Africa and it is the
second poorest country in the world according to the New UNDP Human
Development Multidimensional Poverty Index (Developed by Oxford University).
According to the New poverty Index, about 90% of the total Ethiopian
population live below poverty line with about 62% deprived of adequate
schooling. Ethiopia has a very rich history and a beautiful blend of several
cultures of people of all colors and races. Ethiopia is the only African
country never been colonized yet the long years of poor governance,
corruption, unequal distribution of funds, etc. have crippled Ethiopia's
economy to the point where people continue to die from extreme poverty and
hunger.
Ethiopia like its neighboring countries suffers a great deal from natural
challenges such as drought and unpredictable flooding. Just like Niger (the
poorest country in the world according to the multidimensional poverty
index), the majority of the Ethiopian population are poor subsistence
farmers who grow crops and rear animals just to feed themselves and their
families.
Since Ethiopia's economy depends mostly on agriculture (about 45 to 50% of
GDP), natural causes such as drought and sometimes unpredictable flooding
put the entire economy of Ethiopia in a very bad shape and leave many
starving.
Illiteracy is another major reason why Ethiopia wallows in poverty.
Ethiopian leaders today do not pay much attention to education. Ethiopia has
a lliteracy rate of 42.7% which implies only about 42.7% of the total
population of Ethiopia above age 15 can read and write. This literacy rate
is very bad compared to countries like Kenya (a neighboring country).
Due to extreme poverty and hunger, most children of school going age are out
of school and most are forced into child labor, child trafficking and most
recently, child prostitution. Most children in Ethiopia are forced into
petty trading especially along the major streets of big cities such as Addis
Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia with a population of about 5 million people),
Dire Dawa, Adama or Nazret, Gondar, Dese or Dessie, Mek'ele, Jimma and Bahir
Dar.
Coffee which is very critical to the Ethiopian economy (with exports around
$400 million dollars a year) sometimes meet low prices on the international
market which puts the entire Ethiopian economy in a very bad shape.
Poor governance and corruption are major problems in almost all African
countries. Most political figures in Ethiopia today are very corrupt with
little or no experience at all. Poor governance and political instability in
Ethiopia also drives investors away. The war with Eritrea a neighboring
country (1998-2000 with the loss of about 80,000 lives) for example,
crippled the entire Ethiopian economy and drove many investors away.
However, Since the end of the war with Eritrea in 2000, Ethiopia has seen
significant improvement in its agricultural and other sectors of the
economy. Meanwhile poor governance and corruption continue to tear the great
Ethiopia into pieces.
Received on Wed Sep 10 2014 - 19:02:08 EDT