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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER EIGHT: ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2
1.2. Mining Activity In Ethiopia ............................................................................................... 2
1.3. Forestry .............................................................................................................................. 2
1.4. Fishery................................................................................................................................. 3
1.5. Agriculture In Ethiopia ........................................................................................................... 3
1.5.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................3
1.5.2. Contributions, Potentials And Characteristics Of Agriculture In Ethiopia ...................... 4
1.5.3. Agriculture Systems In Ethiopia ...................................................................................... 5
1.5.4. Major Problems Of Ethiopian Agriculture ....................................................................... 6
1.6. Manufacturing Industry In Ethiopia ........................................................................................ 6
1.6.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................6
1.6.2. Types And Characteristics Of Manufacturing ................................................................. 7
1.6.3. The Spatial Distribution Of Manufacturing Industries In Ethiopia ................................ 8
1.6.4. Industrial Development In Ethiopia: Challenges And Opportunities...............................9
1.7. The Service Sector In Ethiopia ..............................................................................................10
1.7.1. Introduction……………………………………………………….................................10
1.7.2. Transportation And Communication In Ethiopia: Types, Roles And Characteristics....10
1.7.4. Tourism In Ethiopia: Types, Major Sites, Challenges And Prospects…………….........13
References .....................................................................................................................................14
1.1. Introduction
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
Humans have been involved in a number of activities in order to satisfy their diverse material
and spiritual needs. These activities, are known as economic activities.
Geographers classify a nation’s economy into primary, secondary, tertiary.
The primary sector includes the production of raw material and basic foods. Activities
associated with the primary sector include agriculture, mining, forestry, grazing, hunting and
gathering, fishing and quarrying.
Secondary sector all of manufacturing activities, and construction lie within the secondary
sector.
The tertiary sector of the economy is the service industry (trade, transportation and distribution,
entertainment, restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism, insurance, banking, health care, and
law
1.3. Forestry
It is related to exploiting forest products, which include gathering of fuel wood,production of
timber and charcoal, and construction of houses. Economic significance of forest
The contribution to the national economy in the form of GDP is about 2.5%. Most of the trees
cut in Ethiopia today are used for domestic purposes This indicates that forest products are sold
on the local markets at lower prices.
1.4. Fishery
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
Fishing is a an activity that involves harvesting of fish resources from water bodies.
Fishing is known to be one of the oldest human activities. Still fishing is the most widely spread
economic activity.
Land Use
Ethiopia has a total land area of about 113,000,000 hectares. There is no comprehensive
survey of land use pattern in the country but some estimates suggest that about
12.6million hectares, 10.3% of the total area, is intensively cultivated, and a further
15.3million hectares (12.5%) is moderately cultivated. High forest and wood land areas
account for 6.9%, while grassland for 30.5% of the total area.
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
The number of crops grown decreases as one moves from the central highlands to the
peripheral lowlands. The highlands are, thus, more diversified than the lowlands. Cereals
(teff, wheat, barley, maize, sorghum, etc ,) .
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Agricultural products account for more than 90% of the foreign exchange
earnings of the country.
More than 80% of the Ethiopian population derives its livelihood directly
from agriculture.
Animal Husbandry
Ethiopia has a large livestock population (1st in Africa).
The livestock sector contributes about 13% of the total value of agricultural
export.
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
1. Highland mixed farming system: the highland areas of over 1500 m.a.s.l are
characterized by “dega‟ and “woina dega‟ agro- ecological zones. The major characteristic
feature of the farming activity is the integration of crop and livestock production.
3. Pastoral complex: This type of agriculture is practiced in the arid and semiarid lowlands
of Ethiopia where average annual rainfall is less than 500mm by nomadic and semi-
nomadic peoples of Afar, Somali and Borena zone of Oromia and lowlands of the Southern
Region of southern Omo and Lake Turkana area. Almost all the camels, about ¾ of the
goats, ¼ of the sheep and about 20% of the cattle are raised by pastoral communities.
About 90% of the live animals exported come from pastoral areas.
Currently, the economic reform permitted the participation of the private sector in large
scale commercial farming.
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
Land degradation: because of the rugged topography, about half of the cultivable
land of Ethiopia is exposed to various level of soil erosion. The soil in many areas
has lost some biological productivity and physical properties needed for optimal
plant growth.
Land fragmentation: The increasing population size of rural Ethiopia and the limited
total land area, especially, in the high land farming area has been the cause for
declining per-capita landholding
Employment in Industries
The total number of persons employed by various manufacturing industries was reported
as over 329,000 in 2015/16.This represents a continually increasing trend in the number of
employees working in all industries over the last five years.
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Figure 1.2: Number of persons employed by major industrial Group-Public and private
(2011/12- 2015/16)
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2. Manufacturing Industries
The development of manufacturing activities is measure of the development stage of countries.
In Ethiopia manufacturing industries are at a low level of development. Most of the
manufacturing industries are light industries i.e. industries that process consumer goods like
textiles, food, tobacco etc. Heavy industries that manufacture capital goods are very small.
1.6.3. The Spatial Distribution of Manufacturing Industries in Ethiopia
Historically, manufacturing establishments have been concentrated in a few large towns. In
1995/96 the top ten towns accounted for about 85 per cent of the total number of establishments
and 79 per cent employment; where in the same year Addis Ababa alone accounted for about 67
per cent and 60 per cent respectively. This concentration has shown a modest decline and in
2009/10 the top ten towns share reached 60 percent and 62 per cent of the total number of
Manufacturing industries establishments and employment respectively. Some of the current
regional capitals such as Hawassa in the south, Dire Dawa in the east, Mekelle in the north, and
Bahr Dar in the northwest are also among the top ten towns hosting a substantial number of
industrial establishments.
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
Challenges Opportunities
Weak supply chain integration, market Global attention due to its remarkable economic
institutions and information system growth and credit worthiness
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1.7.1. Introduction
Tertiary economic activity involves the distribution and provision of goods and rendering
services. Tertiary institutions include wholesale and retail outlets, banking and other financial
services, governmental and educational services, medical facilities, and much other business and
service functions upon which we depend daily.
Transportation
Transportation is a service or facility by which persons, manufactured goods, and
property are physically carried from one location to another.
There are five different types of transport in Ethiopia. These are:
C. Railway
The major advantage of rail transport is that it helps transport bulky products. For
more than a century, Ethiopia was served by an international meter gauge railway,
from Addis Ababa to Djibouti City in Djibouti.
Recently a new railway line of 750 km length connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti,
was officially inaugurated in Djibouti in 2018.
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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
The other important railway is Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit. It is the first light
rail and rapid transit in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa.
The major advantage of rail transport is that it helps transport bulky products. For
more than a century, Ethiopia was served by an international meter gauge railway,
from Addis Ababa to Djibouti City in Djibouti.
Recently a new railway line of 750 km length connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti,
was officially inaugurated in Djibouti in 2018.
The other important railway is Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit. It is the first light
rail and rapid transit in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa.
D. Waterways
Ethiopia being a landlocked country does not have direct access to such areas.
Presently, the Red Sea through the port of Djibouti is very important for Ethiopia’s
external trade. Because of the nature of the topography over which Ethiopian
rivers flow, Ethiopian rivers with the exception of Baro and Omo in their lower
courses, cannot be used for transportation. On some of the lakes like Tana and
Abaya there is small-scale transportation. The contribution of inland waterways to
the Ethiopian economy is very small.
E. Airways
• It is very essential for a country like Ethiopia, where the topography is difficult
for communication.
• The problem with air transportation is that they are expensive and cannot be
used for transporting bulky products.
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Trade in Ethiopia
Trade is a process of exchange of products involving change in ownership of commodities.
A country carries out two types of trade. These are internal trade and external trade.
Internal trade: This refers to the exchange of goods and services within the country.
External Trade: refers to the exchange conducted between countries. In other words, it is
concerned with import-export trade.
Hence, every country must trade with others to acquire what it lacks.
As the Ethiopian economy is an agrarian economy its merchandise (visible) export is
determined by agricultural products.
the export structure of Ethiopia has been characterized by greater concentration of few
traditional exports such as coffee, oil seeds, and pulses and chat.
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Source: Ethiopia Export Tree map from MIT–Harvard Economic Complexity Observatory
(2014)
Types of Tourism
Ethiopia is endowed with unique landscape, paleontological, archaeological, historical and living cultural
tourism attractions. Based on these attractions diverse types of tourism are there in the country. The
common tourism forms in the country include living culture tourism, history tourism, archaeology
tourism, paleontology tourism, park tourism, geo-tourism, agro-biodiversity and coffee tourism, rural
tourism, conference tourism and sport tourism are
The Churches of Lalibela- the UNESCO has named the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela as the 8 th
wonders of the world
The Castles of Gondar- built in the mid- 17th century together with the surrounding centuries-old
churches depict yet another sophisticated architectural wonders.
The Walls of Harar- built in the early 16th century; the walls are designated after the city of Harar.
City of Harar is considered as the 4th holy city of Islam.
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References
Geography of Ethiopia and the horn (gees1011) module
www.thehaider.com
www.coursehero.com
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