The Sahel

1. Geography
a. Sahel means shore or coast
b. It is the world’s largest dry desert. This shoreline is made up of rocky scrubland,
sandy plains of bushes, low-growing grass and stunted trees. As well as hot winds.
c. Advantages of the Sahel: in the Saharas there are rivers and food, acacia trees in the
rainy season, and bougainvilleas. It also forms a long corridor across Africa
connecting the Red Sea to the Atlantic, and in the north there are the sands and in the
south there are the rainforests. We also find some cities like Khartoum. Additionally,
you can find nomadic herdsmen like Tuareg and Fulani.
d. After 1.600 kilometers of unforgiving sands there is an area with rivers and food and
a variety of peoples with whom to interact and trade. The region connects the Red
Sea to the Atlantic.
e. Mali, the capital Bamako, is geographically, climatically and culturally very different
from the towns and villages to its north as the Sahel merges into the Sahara.
f. Always in danger of being blown by hot winds into the desert
g. Due to the violence going on in the region, Europe could face waves of migration
which some countries would allow to achieve the construction of “Fortress Europe”.
h. Sands are in the north and the rainforests in the south. If you stop moving for too long
you can die from thirst and heatstroke.
i. Within Mali two distinct geographical and cultural regions separated by the Niger
River (north and south) north is drier especially the areas closest to where the sahara
begins and is nominated by the Tuareg people (nomads)
j. Biggest cities are on the Niger River (Gao and Timbuktu) and have seen their wealth
decline as trade via sea routes to Europe grew.
k. The south has more Savannah, rain, agriculture and wealth and more political clout.
Contains Mali’s capital Bamako. Leaders wanted to oppress the Tuareg tribes of the
north who were regarded as aggressive and racist.
The Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) was founded in 2014 as a regional
intergovernmental organization. It provides an institutional framework to
promote development and security within its five member countries: Burkina
Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger
l. Niger is surrounded beset with Islamist terror (Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria,
etc) is the most active of the G5 Sahel countries in terms of regional co-operation.
Funds its army and police well and has made limited efforts to take the issues of
minority ethnic groups seriously including the Fulani.
2. Climate change
a. Climate change is an issue because when the rains fail to appear, so do the crops,
when the lakes shrink, so does the food supply (this is not good for the attitudes of the
people and concern). If this happens then people move and when people move the
places they move to are often not ready for them.
b. Problems of the Great Green Wall: lack of funds, final users.
c. Because of climate change, jihadists and the pre-colonial divides within the region
combine to create an era of conflict.
d. As drought makes the land increasingly arid and unfit for grazing cattle and sheep,
the Fulani move into urban and rural areas where they are seen as outsiders and their
interests clash with others like farmers leading to violence in all sides.
 e. Climate change has shaped the region for thousands of years but also the human
factor altered things, growing populations resulted in trees being cut off for firewood,
an increase of cattle means that more grass cover was eaten. This led to soil erosion
and desertification wind erosion which creates dust storms and the lack of topsoil
made growing crops on a large scale impossible since temperatures can be higher
than 38 Celsius.
f. Second half of the twentieth century was the worst drought experienced anywhere
in the world. (100.000 people died)
g. Lake Chad in the last four decades shrank by 90% causing loss of fish, jobs and
income among millions of people. 10 million people are at extreme risk of hunger.
h. A group of 17 countries plan to invest 400$ billion to fight climate change over the
next decade but it is still uncertain how much money will materialize.
i. Great Green wall tree planting operation in progress not all funding is forthcoming
and most of the proposed wall of trees is in uninhabited land which made the trees die
the idea now it is of greening the whole Sahel area
3. History
a. In the regions people live, they were determined due to the Sahel’s extreme dry or
wet weather. For thousands of years, extreme dry and wet weather periods cause the
Sahara to expand and it has shaped the Sahel and its people (where they live, do, and
how they behave).
b. Prolonged monsoon rains transformed the Sahara desert into what is now the Sahel.
Livestock was introduced as well as new farming methods. 1.500 years ago since the
desert shrank, the expanse in which to hunt and gather expanded and this has allowed
the settlement of people from north and south. Livestock was introduced and also
rudimentary farming.
c. After this, rains ended and the desert returned, forcing many inhabitants towards the
coastline of the Mediterranean Sea or to the south.
d. 5.000 years ago rains ended and the desert is back which forced inhabitants to go
back north towards the liquid coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, or south to the dry
coastline of the Sahel. This made it difficult to journey across brutal distances.
e. After came the camels, called “ships of the desert”, which allowed long trading
routes, so the caravans grew to about 12,000 animals. Camels can survive without
water for two weeks, they also have tough skin to endure the sand.
f. Then came the camel which was a revolutionary moment from 2.000 years ago,
small camel trains (series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or
semiregular line between points) allowed longer trading routes to be established.
They were the only means of mass transport capable of traversing what had been for
centuries a land barrier between Africa and the Eurasian continent.
g. Single-humped camel can carry four times the load of a horse and still travel 50
kilometers in a day.
h. On the camel trains, traders also brought ideas with them that there was only one
God known as Allah and that his messenger on Earth had been called Muhammad.
i. Islam arrived in Sahel early in the eighth century. Powerful rulers were converting to
Islam and the gradual blending of the religion with the diverse faiths of the African
populations.
j. Trade routes increased prosperity which aided the rise of empires and kingdoms, the
ivory, gold and slaves were taken north from trading “ports” by camel trains.
 k. In the 1400s, European trading ships began sailing down the Atlantic coast, bringing
a number of changes to the Sahel -> African slave traders now had a second market
and trade route and coastal regions now had direct access to European goods.
l. Much of the Sahel fell under French control (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, etc) it
was known as “French West Africa” which extended to Algeria. This wasn’t pretty.
m. Voulet-Chanoine expedition when both of them were raping and murdering their
inhabitants, both of them were suffering a form of madness caused by the heat.
n. Over the decades spheres of influence marked on maps, often governed as
administrative regions, became de facto borders (An international or administrative
boundary whose existence and legality is not recognized, but which is a practical
division between separate national and provincial administering authorities) and
where there to stay to promote stability the Organization of African Unity feared that
conflicts would break across the continent if they negotiated land swaps with each
other based on pre-colonial ethnic ties.
o. In 1960, just two years after independence the first Tuareg rebellion occurred
followed by outbreaks of violence and in some ways the current situation is a
continuation of that.
p. In Timbuktu the Islamists set about enforcing strict sharia law on an urban population
(smoking banned, musicians had instruments destroyed, women had to cover up).
4. Governance and Corruption
a. There are ethnic tensions, poverty, violent political and religious ideologies.
b. Central government funding for northern regions is lower than for those in the south.
c. In 2012 Tuareg fighters launched a campaign against the Malian state that has
widespread repercussions across the entire region. Now they had support from
international terror groups connections with Al-Qaeda and AQIM
d. Colonel Gaddafi had visions of using his oil wealth to control the region and was
happy to sow divisions in Mali his regime collapses in 2011 and violence exploded
across borders.
e. In Bamako the government issued statement condemning the destruction of the
country’s cultural heritage but its soldiers had already fled and its limited government
apparatus had been dismantled.
f. There was a kidnapping of two French tourists in 2019 on the Benin side of the
border with Burkina Faso showed the gradual creep of the jihadists’ gepgraphical
capabilities (the ones of the north are the jihadists) the militants usually prefer not to
engage the local and international forces directly
g. There had been fatal attacks: one in 2019 an attack in Niger 71 soldiers die, in 2020
89 were killed and in March there was an ambush in a military encampment of
Chadian soldiers in which 92 were killed.
h. There have been accusations that government security forces in some countries have
committed massacres of civilians of particular ethnicities.
i. The government can’t control the illegal industry but corrupt officials help to
smuggle huge quantities of gold across the porous borders and out of airports.
Governments will even tolerate local groups taking control and becoming unofficial
police forces as long as they don’t challenge the state.
j. Drug trafficking
k. “Trafficking Flows”
l. The governance is bad/big and corruption so high, so it helps to transfer all kinds of
illegal activities.
 m. Since the government is weak they can’t avoid invasions
5. Demography
a. The population of 16 million is divided into over 200 ethnic groups spread over the
area bigger than the UK with a government which cannot protect its own army,
never mind its own people.
a. Africa has the fastest demographic rate in the world and in the Sahel the numbers are
no different in this area. Education could help to reduce the rate but it is expensive
and boys are prioritized over girls. (women have little or no access to contraception
and some are subjected to genital mutilation)
b. Health and sex education could change this, but the need bumps up against limited
government health budgets.
6. Natural resources
a. The French have thousands of expats in the Sahel states, including Niger, home to the
uranium mines which help fuel the French nuclear industry and keep the lights on in French
houses.
b. The poorest region in the world is actually rich in terms of natural resources.
c. There is uranium, oil, phosphate in Niger, iron ore and copper and gold.
d. The Sahel countries mostly don’t process their own raw materials and so income comes from
taxing the multinationals involved in mining.
e. Niger is the world’s fourth-largest producer of uranium but the government is locked into an
unequal relationship with the state-owned company Areva.
f. Mines have brought jobs and problems.
g. Gold mining in Burkina Faso is of interest to the terrorists since the mines are a treasure
trove for terrorists.
h. There are many illegal gold mines more than 2.000 jihadists “tax” on this mines since the
central government is too weak and they buy weapons or pay recruits.
i. Rare-earths are found in The Sahel which makes the region valuable (rare-earths are any of a
group of chemically similar metallic elements comprising the lanthanide series and (usually)
scandium and yttrium. They are not especially rare, but they tend to occur together in nature
and are difficult to separate from one another)

7. External Intervention: Army and Economy

a. French troops were engaged
b. Two and a half thousand French troops arrived along with international approval from the
Malian army.
c. President Macron asks for international support in 2020 he thinks that the region should be a
part of a new EU defense policy seeking to prevent countries to the south collapsing and
sending millions of people towards Europe, that it was time for European countries to step up.
(only a few countries paid attention)
d. UK, Denmark and the Czech government gave little support
e. Most of counter-terrorism is undertaken by the French and American militaries. Both
countries make extensive use of drones to curtail the movements of the militant groups and
their ability to ship arms across borders. Americans have opened a drone base in Niger city.
f. Niger is key of strategic value to the French and US offers the potential to keep an eye of
troubled North African nations and various Islamist groups dotted around the seven countries
on its borders.
g. China will attempt to maintain its control of majority of the deposits in Africa
h. China has opened a naval base in the area.
 i. The Americans want out if this happens then France and other European countries will have
to re-enforce, maintain current abilities or go home which would lead to an explosion of
violence.
j. If Europeans go, Russia and China will enter to help because they want to challenge western
power where they can.
k. The French are worried that they may be trapped in a conflict they cannot win and from
which they cannot escape risks becoming their “Forever War”. It is impossible with all the
corruption and no one is making the ethnic groups unite.

8. Economy
a. 40% of collective GDP depends on agriculture but in which over 80% of the land is
degraded.
b. Sahel Alliance France, Germany, EU, UN development programme, World Bank and
African development bank, Spain and Italy, UK committed to create jobs and develop
infrastructure.

All these solutions are not going to be effective because there is a bad government and
corruption.

Research on The Sahel:

b.
Inflation After remaining stable around 9
percent (year over year) since
the beginning of the pandemic,
food inflation started to rise
again from April this year to
some 11 percent in October.
GDP The Sahel’s GDP has been
around 4.8% year on year since
2010
Exports All the G5 countries, its main
export is mostly gold and they
are exporting mostly to
Switzerland and China.
- Burkina Faso: total
exports of 8.15 billion
dollars. The main exports
are Gold, raw cotton,
zinc ore, and other oily
seeds. Exporting mostly
to Switzerland (6.52
 billion dollars) and India
(630 million dollars).
- Mauritania: total exports
of 3.7 billion dollars. The
main exports are iron ore
and gold. Exporting
mostly to China (1.26
billion dollars) and
Switzerland (562 million
dollars).
- Mali: total exports of
5.05 billion dollars. Main
export is gold to the
United Arab Emirates
and Switzerland.
- Niger: total exports of
2.62 billion dollars. Main
export is gold to the
United Arab Emirates
and China
- Chad: total exports of 1.5
billion dollars. Main
export is crude petroleum
and gold mostly to
China.
Currency The currencies vary per
country: Uguiya (Mauritania),
Franco (Senegal, Mali, Burkina
Faso, Niger, Chad), Dinar
Argelino (Algeria), Naira
(Nigeria), Libra sudanesa
(Sudan), Nakfa (Eritrea).

c. The Sahel is made up from 10 African countries, Senegal,

Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad,
Sudan and Eritrea.
d. The Sahel Alliance: In July 2017, France, Germany and the
European Union announced the launch of the Sahel Alliance.
 Eleven countries or organizations have joined the Sahel Alliance.
Its objective is to help the countries face their challenges, including
chronic insecurity, a lack of economic prospects, and poor access
to education, employment and essential services such as water and
electricity.
e. Due to climate conditions, the Sahel has experienced some of the
driest conditions this year, the price increase is linked to the food
deficit due to the poor rainy season.
f. There has not been enough local production in 2022 to satisfy
demand.
g. All of the products that are expensive right now are imported.
h. Two main problems have led to the price increase: Covid-19 which
they have not been able to control, and insecurity.
i. This region is one of the world’s most critical countries among
Yemen, Afghanistan and other conflict-ridden regions in the world.
j. Its location just below Algeria and Libya makes it relevant to the
EU, which is seeking to limit migration flows from Africa. Many
Europe-bound migrants travel through Niger and then towards the
Mediterranean.
k. The Fulani people is a large group in the Sahel, in which the vast
majority are Muslims and historically they have played an
important role in the breakthrough of Islam in the Sahel
l. Numerous and deadly conflicts between sedentary farmers and
generally nomadic pastoralists who practice transhumance have
affected the Sahel. Due to the continuous expansion of agricultural
land necessitated by the rapid growing population is gradually
limiting transhumance areas and has caused conflicts.
m. A vast majority of farmers are migrating southwards.
n. The two most important trends in the Sahel:
i. Climate change which is forcing nomads to seek new
grazing areas. Rainfall has dropped by 20% over the past 40
years
ii. Population growth since the Sahel is one of the few regions
which have not begun the demographic transition
o. Covid-19 has caused severe lockdown in the Sahel and has
deprived even more food, health and education.
p. Due to the closure of schools, UNICEF has reported that millions
of children across the Sahel have lost stable access to education,
basic nutrition and sanitation services.
q. Restrictions of cross-border movements have also been
implemented and have considerable limited market access and hold
up intra-regional trades of seed and fertilizers.
r. Several important donors like ECOWAS, the World Bank Group,
and others have stepped up with donations.
s. The IMF and the World Bank have imposed conditions on their
loans to governments to create attractive fiscal and monetary
environments for foreign investors. Some implementations have
been: eliminating tariffs, and market liberation, encouraging the
privatization of state enterprises and encouraging the restructuring
of local economies in order to foster advantage between local
markets.
t. Jihadist started at the end of the Algeria Civil war (2002), and in
2006 was pledged an alliance with the Al-Qaeda group. For many
years, the implementation of new Jihadist groups in the Sahel has
become a main problem and has brought intimidation and violence
against the population.
u. So far, Sahel states and their partners have been unable to
sustainably neutralize these groups, and instead jihadist recruitment
has improved and the level of armed violence has increased.
v. The two active terrorist groups in the Sahel are Al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State.
i. Al-Qaeda: this terrorist group has increased its influence
mainly in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. It is considered the
fastest growing terrorist group in the world. Their way to
expand their ruling is by implementing violent consequences
to the people.
ii. Islamic State:
w. The G5 Sahel countries: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso
and Chad face many challenges, including chronic insecurity, a
lack of economic prospects, and poor access to education,
employment and essential services such as water and electricity.
Climate change is weakening the region even more.
x. In August 2020, Mali’s government was overthrown by a military
coup in the wake of mass protests against corruption and the
government’s inability to stop violence in the center of the country.
y. The total population is 81 million people, and 50 million under
the age of 30.
z. Education is extremely low: only 1 out of 2 is literate.
aa. Has a level of debt of 56% of the GDP compared to 66% for
Africa as a whole.
bb. The agriculture sector is essential for the country’s
economy, accounting for 30% of value added and employing
nearly half of the Sahelians.
cc. The Sahel is highly dependent on the outside world. Since the
exports are weak and the import needs are high, the countries in the
region have account deficits around 8% of the GDP.
dd.Level of violence
i. For over a decade, the Sahel region has been confronted with
the presence of al-Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated
organizations. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger were all
among the ten countries having recorded the largest
increases in deaths from terrorism worldwide in 2021.
ii. You cannot invest so the taxes go down, and then you have
to sell the country to Multinationals
iii. Lack of transparency
iv. Guerra indefinida
ee. Worldwide governance indicators
i. Rule of Law: Mexico (-0.67), Nigeria (-0.81)
ii. Control of corruption: Mali (0.78), Nigeria (-1.10)
iii. Political stability: Mexico (-0.85), Mali (-2.15)
Ethiopia

1. Geography:
a. Water defines their geopolitical position and importance
b. Salt water their weakness, freshwater their strength
c. 12 large lakes and nine major rivers
d. High mountains, tropical forests, burning deserts, nine World Heritage sites,
1,000 year old churches, and waterfalls.
e. Lack of a coast line and direct access to the sea but their fresh water makes the
country a key local player in the Horn of Africa, one of the regions most
affected by conflict.
f. East African Rift System, in which the mountains and valleys have divided the
country, and the leaders have always tried to build bridges to unite the
country.
g. Its valleys begin in Syria and stretch southwards to Mozambique.
h. Besides of water, another defining geographical element is that a rift runs
through it “the east African rift”
i. The valleys average 50 kilometers in width. But this rift makes
communication difficult because it splits the country in half.
j. A lot of steep gorges and waterfalls held back development.
k. The mountainous highlands are the main agricultural area (coffee plantations)
and the most populated part.
l. Addis Ababa is the capital
m. The high mountainous parts are the most populated region in the country (with
the rift in the middle, the mountainous highlands resemble the shape of human
lungs, with the left lung the dominant of the two) and the main agricultural
area. coffee plantations are the biggest foreign exchange earners.
n. Some countries like the US have seen the potential advantages of this country
for trade, also military and economic strategies. They are called the “water of
Africa” and if it uses tech and resources it could transform its own fortunes
and the rest of Africa.
o. High ground, including the capital, makes it very difficult to invade and
occupy.
p. Has 6 neighbors and the most unstable is Somalia
q. Eritrea and Djibouti block Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea
r. Ethiopia’s lowest geographical point is the Danakil Depression
s. The country sits at the center of one of the most troubled regions in the
world.
t. MAIN GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEM: LACK OF ACCESS TO THE
SEA. They need to be able to secure reliable trade routes. Their imports and
exports mostly pass through its neighbor's territory.
u. Most important trade routes via the Red Sea among 90% of their imports
and exports travel by sea and almost all cargo goes via the port of Djibouti.
v. CHINA almost 33% of Ethiopia’s imports and 8% of exports involve China.
 w. Ethiopia has the power to cut the water flow to Egypt by constructing a dam
on the Nile and they are scared this could happen and it is hard for Egypt to
attack Ethiopia because the country is landlocked. So Egypt is slowly trying to
switch some of its agricultural sector to products which are less water
intensive. Ethiopia has promised it will keep the water flowing and export
surplus electricity to its neighbors.
x. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam provides Ethiopia with a unique
opportunity to break the centuries-long cycle of poverty and ethnic violence.
y. Technology is allowing Ethiopia to bend the bars of its geographical prison.
used wisely equitably, cheap and abundant electricity can transform the lives
of tens of millions of people. together with good governance brings the
possibility of Ethiopia becoming a stable country and an acceptance of what is
a regional power.
z. The Horn of Africa is a hub for extremist groups and piracy.
aa. Under the ruling of Zenawi the regions were given the right to seek
independence which led to legal recognition of Eritrea as a separate country.
At the stroke of a pen Ethiopia lost its entire coastline along the red sea and
became the most populous landlocked country in the world.

2. History:
a. Ethiopia is already the military power in the Horn of Africa area with a population of
110 million
b. Ethiopia could be the center of regional stability but lacks strong borders and internal
peace
c. Conflict 2021-2021 conflict broke out between the Ethiopian state and the Tigray
region in the north of the country and the conflict caused tens of thousands of
refugees to go into Sudan.
d. The country can be self-sufficient in energy and food
e. Periodic drought, deforestation, overgrazing and military dictatorship and poor
infrastructure have held the country back and only one river is navigable which is
hard for internal trade. The Baro is the only river that is properly navigable.
f. Ethiopia was never colonized but having built its own empire it has their own
problems. 9 major ethnic groups among its population, 9 administrative areas and two
self governing cities all based on ethnicity.
g. +80 languages spoken
h. Some ethnic groups: Oromo, Amhara, Somali, Tigray
i. The diversity has always hindered government efforts to unite the disparate
communities.
j. According to tradition, relationship between Ethiopia and Islam goes all the way back
to the founding of the religion and this is another example of the links between the
Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
k. Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya)
l. In 1855 when Emperor Tewodros II unified various kingdoms
m. The Emperor reorganized and equipped the army with modern weapons and
craftsmen from Europe
n. Bridges across numerous rivers were built
o. A railway line connecting Addis Ababa to the port of Djibouti was built
p. In 1930, Ras tafari became the Emperor. He was very progressive as well. He
oversaw the modernization of the economy, ensuring the foregin companies had to go
into partnership with local ones.
q. By the 1920s the capital had a population of over 100.000 and Ethiopia was emerging
as an independent power in a region of European colonies.
r. In 1920, Selassie (New emperor) accomplished plenty of things entry of the country
into the League of Nations which was the pre-second World war version of the UN or
that it ensured that foreign companies had to go into partnership with local ones.
s. Their independence and growing economic base put it back in the Italians sights and
they used its slavery practices as propaganda to justify war. In 1935 the Italians
invaded and by May they occupied Addis Ababa causing the emperor to flee to
London.
t. Ethiopian resistance continued until 1941 when the British army defeated the Italians
and brought with them the emperor Selassie.
u. Ethiopia then played a key role to the US in America's efforts to counter the Soviet
Union in the region and Washington invested a lot in infrastructure and military aid.
v. Although its history made it a symbol of resistance to colonialism, the country
remained poor, underdeveloped and a fragmented state.
w. In 1974 a coup d’état was staged by the armed forces, police and territorial
army. They kidnapped the emperor and a year later he was dead.
x. In 1977 Major Mengistu brought a Marxist-Leninist regime, overseeing years of
economic mismanagement and a campaign of terror. Relations with Washington were
broken and Ethiopia realigned itself with the Soviet Union and conflict again broke
out
y. Marxist economic policies nationalized the means of production and tried to force
subsistence farmers to grow extra crops and sell produce at prices below market rates
to feed the cities and the military. But the policy turned into a disaster. In early 1980s
the loland rains failed completely and famine ensued, one of the worst
humanitarian events of the 20th century and 1 million deaths.
z. The 200s saw years of steady economic growth but internal repression continued
with thousands of activists and journalists jailed.
aa. In 2018 enter Abiy Ahmed who was elected prime minister. He was the first Oromo
to lead the country; thousands of political prisoners and journalists were released.
Included women into political charges as well. Due to all of his efforts to seek peace it
earned him a Nobel Peace Prize but in the first weeks of his rule ethnic clashes broke
out in several border regions and a lot of people had been killed.
bb. The disparate regions within Ethiopia borders require a degree of force to control and
the challenge is to ensure that the ethnic groups buy into the idea of nationhood so
that those who join its armed forces are motivated to defend it.
 cc. “Ethiopianess”is a policy supported by the state so that people feel Ethiopian first
and their ethnic identity second. It projects a message that there is an identity common
to all Ethiopians.
dd. The country is divided into its ethnic groups and this weakens the nation state.
ee. There are killings mostly along ethnic Amhara-oromo lines but religious identity
played a role
ff. Ethiopia faces cultural, political and economic challenges
gg. Religious leaders are encouraged to emphasize unity of humanity and shared values of
Christianity and Islam
hh. Ethiopia is part of the Qatar-Turkey/Saudi UAE clash, but has tried to remain neutral.
ii. The Saudis and Emiratis have invested in Ethiopia’s energy, tourism and
manufacturing sector and agriculture.
jj. Turkey is the biggest investor in Ethiopia after China.

3. Climate change
a. Climate change has exacerbated the frequent droughts which hit the lowlands and
deforestation is causing soil erosion and desertification

4. Natural resources
a. Water flow is increasingly used for generation of hydroelectricity using dams and
power stations along rivers and also supplies power to their neighbors.
b. They have a small oil producing industry.
c. Most important trade route is the Red Sea
d. Ethiopians have the power of the beginning of the Blue Nile river.
e. The dam will create so much energy that Ethiopia will be able to supply to Sudan

5. Demography
a. It is the second most populous African country
b. The country has to deal with the inflow of refugees escaping the regional conflicts
and it has exacerbated ethnic tensions

6. Economy
a. Tourism accounts for almost 10% of the country’s GDP with 1 million of people a
year ventures into the epic landscapes.
b. Agriculture makes up almost half of Ethiopia's gdp.

7. Religion:
a. About one third of Ethiopians are now Muslim
b. Relationships between the two religions (Islam and Muslim) are mostly peaceful but
In recent years the spread of fundamentalism from the Middle East has influenced
some Ethiopian Muslims to question their own religion which has raised some
tension.
c. Amhara → Christian and Oromo → Muslim
8. Challenges:
a. To keep the internal borders calm and the external borders secure provide a safe
environment for economic growth.
b. Stability is the biggest challenge for Ethiopia
c. If the political and business classes can manage the economy and the politicians can
work together to unite the country then the African success story is an option.
d. Ethiopia has promised it will keep the water flowing and exports surplus electricity to
its neighbors.

Research on Ethiopia:

Main exports:
- Their number one exports is coffee, gas turbines and gold; exporting mainly to the
United States, Somalia and Hong Kong

Main imports:
- Its main imports are refined petroleum and gas turbines mainly coming from China,
India and the United Arab Emirates, United States.

Top industries:
- Food processing, beverages, textiles and leather

Corruption Perception Index

- it is situated in the 39/100 and since it is close to 0 means that the country is highly
corrupt

Public debt
- The public debt of the country amounts up to 52.562 million dollars representing
52,95% of their GDP.

Recent news:
- Fighting and sanctions have disrupted grain shipments from Russia and
Ukraine, which between them account for nearly 30 percent of global wheat
exports, threatening hunger and social upheaval in many countries. One of
those countries is Ethiopia.
- In recent news, 20 million are at risk within the countries of Somalia, Kenya and
Ethiopia. But also this is due to extreme droughts which has led to a humanitarian
catastrophe.
 - Currently, the country has been in the grip of a 17 month war between government
forces and Tigrayan rebels, and the war in Ukraine has slowed down the funding
coming from the United Nations.
- About the war mentioned before in the northern region in Tigray, Ethiopia is going to
receive 300 million of dollars to assist reconstruction where conflict has hit. The
money will be used for financing activities such as health, education, water supply,
among others.
- The inflation rate of Ethiopia reached 36,6% in April 2022 which has been the highest
inflation rate in the country since 2011. This was mainly due to increase in prices of
food (+42,9%). The Ethiopian has tried easing inflation with monetary, fiscal and
structural measures but the inflation rates continue to be in double digits.
- The second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria and the fastest growing
economy in the region with 6,3 percent growth fiscal year 2020-2021.
- The economic growth was led by capital accumulation such as public infrastructure
investments
- In the sector of agriculture over 70% of the population are employed, this sector was
not particularly affected by COVID-19 and the contribution of the sector improved
fiscal year 2020-2021
- Ethiopia's Human Development Index is very low being 0,38 being ranked in position
179 over 180 countries and it is lower than the average in the Saharan African region
but a little bit higher than the average for low-income countries.
About the dam
- Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the $4.2-billion (3.7-billion-euro) project is
ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity,
more than doubling Ethiopia's electricity output.
- The dam is about 40 kilometers east of Sudan, its main function is to produce
electricity.
- As of 20 February 2022, when Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed officially
inaugurated the dam, it was 84% complete, with 18.5 billion cubic meters of
water in its reservoir.
- Currently, over 60% million of people do not have access to electricity. The
dam has the potential to transform development in the country. It will provide
households, especially those in rural Ethiopia, with clean and affordable
energy.
- The electricity could transform the agricultural sector, bring industry and
manufacturing to underdeveloped regions and reduce deforestation. It could
also revolutionize education and bring the internet to rural areas.
- Ethiopia is expected to export its excess electricity to its neighbors, including
Sudan.
- Work on the dam was initially scheduled to take five years. The completion
date has been moved to 2023.
GDP - 107,65 billion of Us dollars in 2020
and represents 0,10 of the world
economy
- The Agriculture sector accounts for
46% over its GD
- 10% of the country’s GDP is
tourism

Inflation - The inflation rate of Ethiopia

reached 36,6% in April 2022 which
has been the highest inflation rate in
the country since 2011. This was
mainly due to increase in prices of
food (+42,9%). The Ethiopian has
tried easing inflation with monetary,
fiscal and structural measures but the
inflation rates continue to be in
double digits.

Currency - The Ethiopian birr (ETB), the

national currency of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
is issued by the National Bank of
Ethiopia
- 1 ETB is equal to approximately
USD $0.02
- the birr is considered to be an
exotic currency or thinly traded
currency

Public debt - In 2022, the public debt of the

country amounts up to 52.562
million dollars representing 52,95%
of their GDP.
- Ethiopia is an authoritarian state, so
approval of democracy cannot be
assessed because no public opinion
polls on democratic performance
exist.

Demographics - The population is of 120,4 million

people.
- Over 80% of the population is
multidimensional poor.
- 65% of households have access to
improved water sources
- Only 17% of the people practice
improved personal hygiene and live
in healthy environments
- 70.000 of under five year olds die
each year due to diarrhea.