CHAPTER FIVE

THE CLIMATE OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN

5.1. INTRODUCTION
Ethiopia
A large country in the Horn of Africa
Characterized by:
 Wide variety of altitudinal ranges
 Diverse climatic conditions
 Subjected to large temporal and spatial variations in elements of
weather and climate due to its closeness to:
• The equator
• Indian Ocean
Its climate is mainly controlled by:
• Seasonal migration of the inter-tropical
convergence zone
• Associated atmospheric circulations
• The complex topography of the country
Weather
• Instantaneous/current state of the atmosphere
• Current state/condition of atmosphere at a given time and
place
• Short term atmospheric condition
• Expressed by a combination of several elements
Climate
• State of the atmosphere over long time periods
• Composite of daily weather conditions recorded for long
periods of time
• Function of a variety of interacting elements
• Extremes/variations of atmosphere that may occur beyond the
average conditions
5.2. Elements and Controls of Weather and Climate
 All weather conditions may be traced to:
• Effect of the sun on the earth
• Large scale horizontal motion of air (wind)
 Climate of a region is ultimately determined by:
• Radiation distribution
• Radiation temporal fluctuations
 Major elements and controls of weather and climate are:
5.2.1. Controls of Weather and Climate
 Climate is determined by a combination of many interacting
factors

 These include:
• Latitude
• Elevation
• Nearby water
• Ocean currents
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Prevailing winds
 Major determining factors (controls of weather and climate)
between places and seasons are:
A. Latitude
 Distance of a location from the equator
 Angle of the sun: vertical at the equator
slanting at temperate and polar region
 Sun shines directly on equator for more hours:
• higher insolation at the equator
• lowest insolation occur over the polar
 Further away from the equator towards the poles:
• Less solar insolation is received
• Temperature become colder
 Latitudinal location of Ethiopia and the Horn resulted in:
• High average temp.
• High daily ranges of temp.
• Small annual ranges of temp.
• No significant variation in length of day and night between summer and
winter
B. Inclination of the Earth's Axis
 The earth's rotation axis makes an angle of about
• 66 ½ ° with the plane of its orbit around the sun
• 23 ½ ° from the perpendicular to the ecliptic plane
 Determines the location of the: Tropics of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Arctic circles
Antarctic circles

 As the earth revolves around the sun, this inclination produces:

• Change in the directness of the sun's rays
• Causes the directness of the sun
• Differences in length of day and seasons
 Earth’s rotation on its own axis causes day and night
• A complete rotation takes 24 hours resulting in the alternation of
day and night

 Revolution of the earth around the sun explains the seasons

• A complete revolution takes 365 ¼ days at a variable speed
which averages about 26km per second
Equinoxes and Solstices
 An equinox
• Instant of time
• Length of days and nights are equal for each latitude
• Revolution of the earth along its orbit, causes seasonal changes
in the daylight and darkness periods
• Appears twice a year:
1.Vernal (spring) equinox
• Verticality of sun's rays crosses the equator northwards
• Experiences in northern hemisphere
• The sun is exactly above the equator
• Length of day and night are equal
• Beginning of spring season
• March 21 marks the offset of the vernal equinox
2.Autumn equinox
• Sun crosses equator
• Equal length between day and night
• Visible sun moves south across the celestial equator on 23rd of
September
• Beginning of autumn season
Solstice
• Overhead sun appears to northern or southern of equator
• Unequal length of days and nights in the hemispheres
• Both hemispheres most or least sunlight of the year
1. Summer Solstice
• June 21st, sun experiencing longest daylight of the year
• First day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere
• The sun is:
• At its highest position in the noonday sky
• Directly above 23 ½ in the tropic of cancer
• Sun travels longest length causing:
• Shortest night
• Longest daylight
2. Winter solstice
• 22nd of December is the day when the maximum in the
Southern Hemisphere
• Sun travels shortest length causing:
• Longest night
• Shortest daylight
• Sun is:
• Directly over the tropic of Capricorn
• Located at 23 ½ ° south of the equator
Equinox
 Sun appears exactly at the equator
 Equal length of day and night
 Twice year

Spring equinox Autumn equinox

March 21 September 23
Equal length of day and night Equal length of day and night
Sun exactly at the equator Sun exactly at the equator

Sun crosses the equator to North wards Sun crosses the equator to South wards
Beginning of spring season Beginning of Autumn season
Solstices
 Sun appears North/South of the equator
 Unequal length of day and night
 Two types

Summer solstices Winter solstices

June 21 December 22
Unequal length of day and night Unequal length of day and night
Longest day and shortest night Longest night and shortest day

Sun is North of the equator Sun is south of the equator

Sun is directly over tropic of cancer Sun is directly over tropic of Capricorn
Figure 5.1. The apparent path of the sun at different latitudes
C. Altitude
 Height of location above the sea level
 Under normal conditions there is a general decrease in
temperature with increasing elevation
 The average rate at which temperature changes per unit of
altitudinal change is known as lapse rate
 The lapse rate is limited to the lower layer of the atmosphere
named as troposphere
 The normal lapse rate is 6.5°C per kilometer rise in altitude
Adiabatic lapse rate
 Involves change of temperature due to rising(air will expand and
cool) and sinking (air will be compressed and warms) of air
parcel
 No heat exchange b/n then given air parcel and its surrounding
 Heat of parcel (quantity) of air is stable/does not change with the
outside environment
 Change of temperature with altitude of an air parcel without
gaining or losing heat to the environment surrounding the parcel
 Air pressure decrease with increasing altitude
 Air density decrease with increasing altitude
Types of lapse rate
 There are three types of lapse rates
I. Dry adiabatic laps rate
 Parcel of air that is dray
 Unsaturated air:-air does not contain max. water vapor
 Caused by Vertical displacements of air
 Temperature changes occurring in the rising or subsiding air mass
are:
• not the result of additions of heat to, or withdrawals of heat
from outside sources
• but rather are the consequence of internal processes of
expansion and contraction
 Temperature of an air parcel changes in response to the expansion
or compression process associated with a change in altitude
 If the parcel of air is unsaturated, the rate of adiabatic cooling or
warming remains constant
Dry adiabatic laps rate
 Normal lapse rate -6.5oc/1000m (temperature inversion)

 Change temperature observed while moving upward through earth’s

atmosphere
 Direct energy exchange between air parcel and environment
II. Wet Adiabatic laps rate
 Parcel of air that are already moist

 Saturated air:

 Air that contain max. amount of water vapor

 Air in w/c relative humidity is 100%
 This is due to the latent heat in the water vapor carried by the air
 Latent heat:
 Physical change without changing in temp.
 Heat convert solid to liquid to vapor without change of temp.
Diabatic laps rate
 Normal lapse rate -6.5oc/1000m (temperature inversion)

 Change temperature observed while moving upward through earth’s

atmosphere
 Direct energy exchange between air parcel and environment
III. Environmental lapse rate or Atmospheric lapse late
 Actual, observed change of temp. With alt.
 Air temperature is normally highest at low elevations next to the
earth
 Air temperature decreases with altitude
 Most of the atmospheric heat is received directly from the earth's
surface and only indirectly from the sun
 But the lower layer is warmer due to:
• Closest to the direct source of heat
• Its high density
• It contains more water vapor and dust
 Decrease in temperature upward from the earth's surface
normally prevails throughout the lower atmosphere called
troposphere
 The principal exception to the rule is the cause of
temperature inversions. The rate of change is 6.50C/1000 meters
5.3. Spatiotemporal Patterns and Distribution of Temperature and
Rainfall in Ethiopia
5.3.1. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Temperature
In Ethiopia
 It is characterized by extremes
 Temp. dist. primarily determined by: altitude
latitude
 Due to close proximity to equator, a zone of maximum insolation
 Experience overhead sun twice a year
 A highland country, tropical temperature conditions have no full
spatial coverage
 Temperature is affected by altitude, decreases towards the interior
highlands
 Mean annual temperature varies from:
• Over 300C in the tropical lowlands
• Less than 100c at very high altitudes
 Bale Mountains are lowest mean annual temperatures among highlands
 Afar Depression is highest mean maximum temperature in the lowlands

 Ethiopian experiences mean maximum temperatures of more than

300C in:
• Lowlands of north-western
• Western and south-eastern

 Traditional expressions/local terms denoting temperature zones are

the following
In the tropics
• Daily range of temp. is higher
• Annual range of temp. is small

In temperate latitude

• Daily range of temp. is smaller
• Annual range of temp. is higher
 Daily temperatures are more extreme than its annual averages
 Daily maximum temperature varies from:
• A high of more than 37oC over the lowlands in: Northeast
Southeast
• A low of about 10oC-15oC over highlands in: Northwestern
Southwestern
 The variation in the amount of solar radiation received daily is
• Small throughout the year
• Temperature is high during the daytime
• Reduced at night: resulting maximum difference in the daily
range
• Monthly averages variation is minimal
• Annual range of temperature is small
 In Ethiopia and elsewhere in the Horn, temperature shows seasonal
variations
• March to June -highest temperatures
• November to February-low temperatures

 It is not easy to observe distinct variation in temperature between

seasons as the sun is always high in the tropics
 However, there is a slight temperature increase in summer
• Southern part of Ethiopia receives highest records of temperature
in autumn and spring
• Northern part of the country, summer season is characterized by
higher temperature
• Unlike other parts of Ethiopia, the southern and southwestern
highlands experience reduced temperature due to directness of
the sun
• The direction of rain bearing winds (leeward or windward side)
also determines the temperature variations in mountainous
regions
5.3.2. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Rainfall
Rainfall system in Ethiopia
 Characterized by:
• Complexities
• Spatial and temporal variability's
• Influenced by the position of inter-tropical convergence zone
Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
• Convergence of:
• Northeast trade winds
• Equatorial westerlies
• A low-pressure zone
• Its oscillation causes a variation in the wind flow patterns
• Shifts N &S of the equator following the position of the overhead
sun
 As the shift takes place, equatorial westerlies from the south and
southwest invade most parts of Ethiopia bringing moist winds

 However, these winds decrease the length of rainy seasons and

magnitudes on the line of the shift

 The shift takes place when the trade winds from the north retreat
giving the space for equatorial westerlies

 This development mainly happens in July in Ethiopia and the Horn

causing variability and seasonality
In January
• ITCZ shifts towards south of equator (Tropic of Capricorn)
• Northeast Trade Winds carrying non-moisture-laden dominates
the region
• Afar and parts of Eritrean coastal areas experience rainfall in
this period
In march and September
 Directness of the sun around the equator
 ITCZ shifts towards equator
 Due to south easterlies bring moist winds, the following regions
receives rainfall:
• Central highlands
• Southeastern highlands
• Southeastern lowlands
Seasonal or Temporal Variability's
 Rainfall is highly variable both in amount and distribution across
regions and seasons
 Seasonal and annual rainfall variations are results of
• Macro-scale pressure systems
• Monsoon flows
 Temporal variability of rainfall are characterized by:
I. Summer
 Months of
• June
• July
• August
 Majority of Ethiopian regions receive rainfall except lowlands in
• Afar
• Southeast
 Sun overheads north of the equator
 High pressure cells develop on the Atlantic and Indian oceans
around the tropic of Capricorn:
• Atlantic contributes a lot
• Indian ocean is also source of rainfall
 Ethiopia and the horn come under the influence of the equatorial
westerlies (Guinea monsoon) and easterlies
 Guinea monsoon and the south easterly winds are responsible
for the rain
II. Autumn
 Months of
• September
• October
• November
 Season of the year between summer and winter
 The exact position of the ITCZ changes over the course of the
year, oscillating across the equator
 ITCZ shifts towards south of the equator weakening the equatorial
westerlies
 South easterlies from Indian ocean showers the lowlands in
southeastern part of Ethiopia
III. Winter
 Months of
• December
• January
• February
 Overhead sun is far south of equator
 Northeasterly winds originating from the landmass of Asia
dominantly prevail Ethiopian landmass
 Northeasterly winds crossing the red sea carry very little
moisture and supplies rain only to
• Afar lowlands
• Red sea coastal areas
IV. Spring
 Months of
• March
• April
• May
 Noonday sun is shining directly on the equator while shifting
north from south
 The shift of the ITCZ, results in longer days and more direct solar
radiation providing warmer weather for the northern world
 The effect of the northeast trade wind is very much reduced
 Conversely, the south easterlies from the Indian ocean provide
rain to:
• Highlands of Somalia
• Central lowlands
• Southeastern lowlands
• Highlands of Ethiopia
Rainfall Regions of Ethiopia
Based on rainfall distribution, both in space and time, four
rainfall regions can be identified in Ethiopia and the Horn
These are:
I. Summer rainfall region
• Comprises almost all parts of the country, except SE and NE
lowlands
• Experiences most of its rain during summer (kiremt)
• While some places also receive spring (belg) rain
• Divided in to dry and wet summer rainfall regions
• The high altitudes and the windward side experience such rainfall
amount
II. All year-round rainfall region
 Many rainy days than any part of the country
 A rainfall region in the southwestern part of the country
 The wetness region due to the prepotency of moist air currents of
equatorial westerlies called the guinea monsoons
 Both duration and amount of rainfall decreases as we move from
southwest to north and eastwards
 Summer months in gain highest rainfall
 Winter months receive the reduced amount
 The average rainfall in the region varies from 1,400 to over
2,200 mm/year
III. Autumn and Spring rainfall regions
 Comprises areas receiving rain following the influence of
southeasterly winds
 South eastern lowlands of Ethiopia receive rain during autumn
and spring seasons when both the north easterlies and equatorial
westerlies are weak
 South-easterlies bring rainfall from the indian ocean
 About 60% of the rain is in autumn and 40% in spring
 Average rainfall varies from less than 500 to 1,000 mm
IV. Winter rainfall region
 Receives rain from the northeasterly winds
 The red sea escarpments and some parts of the afar region
receive their main rain
5.4. Agro-ecological Zones of Ethiopia

Ethiopia possesses diverse agro- climatic zones due to

diversified:
• Altitude
• Climatic conditions
Agro- climatic zones have traditionally been defined in terms
of temperature
Five major climatic zones:
• Wurch
• Dega
• Woina Dega
• Kolla
• Bereha
Wurch Zone
 An area having:
• Altitude higher than 3,200 m.a.s.l
• Mean annual temperature of less than 10oc

 Fitting characteristics of this zone include mountain systems of:

• Ras Dashen
• Guna
• Megezez in North Shoa
• Batu
• Choke
• Abune Yoseph etc.
Dega Zone
Highlands having:
• Relatively higher temperature
• Lower altitude compared to the wurch zone

Long inhabited and has dense human settlement due to:

• Reliable rainfall for agriculture
• Absence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria
Weyna Dega Zone
 Having:
• Warmer temperature
• Moderate rainfall

 Lies between 1500-2,300 m.a.s.l

 Second largest zone covering more than 26% of the landmass of

Ethiopia

 Temperature and rainfall of this category is highly suitable for

majority of crops grown in Ethiopia

 Includes most of the agricultural land

 Has also two growing seasons

Kolla Zone
 Geographic peripheries in south
southeast part of Ethiopia
west
northeastern
 Hot lowlands with an alt. range of 500 - 1500 m.a.s.l
 Average annual temp. ranges b/n 20oc and 30oc
 Mean annual rainfall is erratic, it can be as high as 1500 mm in the
wet western lowlands of gambella
 Rainfall is highly variable from year to year
 Boundary between the hot arid (bereha) and humid climates (woina
dega)
 Include areas of:
• Djibouti
• Majority of Somalia
• Coastal areas of Eritrea
Bereha Zone
 Hot arid climate of the desert lowlands
 Largely confined to lowland areas with altitude of lower than 500
meters
 Average annual rainfall is less than 200 mm
 Average annual temperature is over 27.5oc
 Usually characterized as:
• Strong wind
• High temperature
• Low relative humidity
• Little cloud cover
 Evapotranspiration is always in excess of rainfall
 Include areas of:
• Djibouti
• Majority of Somalia
• Coastal areas of Eritrea
 5.5. Climate Change/Global Warming: Causes, Consequences
and Response Mechanisms

Climate change

Definition
• Change in the state of the climate
• Any change in climate over time
5.5.1. Current Trends
In Ethiopia
 Changes in temperature and rainfall increase the frequency and severity
of extreme events
 Climate experiences extremes such as drought, flood etc.
 Ranked 5th out of 184 countries in terms of its risk of drought
 12 extreme drought events were recorded between 1900 and 2010
 Among the 12, seven of the drought events occurred since 1980. The
majority of these resulted in famines
 The severe drought of 2015-2016 was exacerbated by the strongest el
nino that caused successive harvest failures and widespread livestock
deaths in some regions
Trends in Temperature Variability
• Experienced climatic changes over the last decades
• Mean annual temperature has shown 0.2°C to 0.28°C rise per
decade over the last 40-50 years
• Average temp. Rise about 1.3°C has been observed b/n 1960 and
2006
• The rise has spatial and temporal variation
• Higher rise in temp. Noted in drier areas in: Northeast
Southeast
• Variability is higher in July- September
• Number of “hot days” and “hot nights” has also shown
increment
• Country's minimum temp. has increased with 0.37°C to 0.4°C per
decade
Trends in Rainfall Variability
• Remained fairly stable over the last 50 years
• Now rainfall: variability is increasing
predictability is decreasing
• In some regions, total average rainfall is showing decline
• Shown decline by 15-20% b/n 1975 and 2010 in parts of
• southern
• south- western having strong implication for crop production
• south-eastern
• Results the occurrence of
• Flood
• Droughts
• Desertification
Causes
 Categorized as:
• Anthropogenic/manmade causes
• Natural causes
A. Natural Causes
Major natural causes:
oEarth orbital changes
• Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the perpendicular plane of its
orbital path
• Changes in the tilt of the earth can lead to:
• Small but climatically important changes in the strength of the seasons
• Warmer summers and colder winters
oEnergy Budget
• Sun's energy output appears constant
• But small changes over an extended period of time can lead to
climate changes
• Sun’s amount of radiation now 20% to 30% more intense than it
was once
oVolcanic eruptions
• Releases large volumes of:
• Sulphur dioxide
• Carbon dioxide
• Water vapor into the atmosphere
• Dust
• Ash
• Can increase planetary reflectivity causing atmospheric cooling
B. Anthropogenic Causes
Human activities
• Greatly influence on the environment is for global warming
• Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases
• Warming of earth planet in the past 50 years
• Industrial activities that modern civilization raised atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels in the last 150 years
 Major gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
• Water vapor
• Carbon dioxide
• Methane caused increase in earth's temp. over the past 50 yrs.
• Nitrous oxide
• CFCs
 Although methane is less abundant in atmosphere, it is by far more
active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide
5.5.3. Consequences of Climate Change
 Causes:
• Loss of life
• Damaging property
• Affecting livelihoods
 Its impact is higher in low income countries due to limited
capacity to cope with the changes
 Consequences of the changing climate include:
 Impacts on human health
 Increased heat related:
• Mortality and morbidity
• Infectious disease epidemics
• Displacement
• Incidence malaria
 Impact on water resources
 Leads to:
• Melting of snow and glaciers
• Increases rise in sea level
• Increase drought and floods
• Distorts wind flow pattern
• Decreases water table
• Reduce the amount of run-off into rivers, streams and lakes
 Impact on Agriculture
• Affect agricultural production
• Increases physiological stress and
• Affect fodder quality and availability

• Impact on Ecosystem
 Affects the success of: Species
Population

Community adaptation
5.5.4. Climate Response Mechanisms
 Three major response mechanisms:
• Mitigation
• Adaptation
• Resilience
Mitigation and its Strategies
Mitigation measures
• Actions to reduce and control GHGs emission
• Reducing the flow of heat trapping greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere
• Avoid significant human interference with the climate system
• Mitigation measures:
• Practice Energy efficiency
• Increase the use of renewable energy such as solar
• Efficient means of transport implementation: Electric public
Transport
Bicycle
Shared cars etc.
Adaptation and its Strategies
 Adjusted to and coped with changes in climate and extremes
Adaptation
• Adapting to life in a changing climate
• Adjusting to actual or expected future climate
• Reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change
 Major adaptation strategies:
• Building flood defenses
• Plan for heat waves and higher temperatures
• Installing water-permeable pavements
• Improve water storage and use
• Landscape restoration and reforestation
• Flexible and diverse cultivation
• Preventive and precautionary measures:
• Evacuation plans
• Health issues etc.
 CHAPTER SIX
SOILS, NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
RESOURCES OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN
6.1. INTRODUCTION
 Varity of soil and biological diversity were the result of:
• Past geological process
• Varied climatic events
 Soil formation and spatial variability related to:
• Topographic factors
• Climatic factors
• Land use
• Parent material (rocks)
 Distribution of wildlife and natural vegetation controlled by:
• Climate
• Soil types
• Drainage
 Fauna and flora availability and distribution threatening by:
• Man-made problems
• Natural problems
 6.2. Ethiopian Soils: Types, Degradation and
Conservation
6.2.1. INTRODUCTION
Soil
Definition
 Materials composed of:
• Weathered rocks
• Minerals in dynamic equilibrium that develops on earths surface
• Organic matter
Consists/Composed
• Mineral materials (45%)
• Organic matter (5%)
• Air (20-30%)
• Water (20-30%)
Formation
• Long-term process
• Several thousands of years
• Complex mixture of several constituents
• Depends on:
• Parent material
• Climate
• Topography
• Living organism
• Time
Properties

Two basic properties

A. Physical properties
• Influenced by composition and proportion
• Categorized as
• Texture-size
• Structure-shape
• Porosity-space b/n soil particles

• Affect air and water movement in the soil

B. Chemical Properties
 Interaction of various chemical constituents
 Categorized as:
• Availability of minerals
• Electrical conductivity
• Soil ph.: 0-7=acid, 7-14=alkaline, =7=neutral
 Affect: Soil biological activity directly
Nutrient dynamics indirectly
Weathering
Definition
 Disintegrates the inorganic substances (rocks) of soils
 Breakdown/disintegrates of rocks at the Earth's surface by the
action of:
• Rainwater
• Extremes of temperature
• Biological activity
Types
A. Mechanical
 Also physical
 Physical disintegration
 Types/actions:
• Differential stresses: heating and cooling or expansion
• Abrasion: erosion by friction
B. Biological weathering
Weakening and subsequent disintegration of rock by:
• Roots of plant-growing roots
• Biological process- burrowing animals
• Microbial activity-microorganisms
C. Chemical weathering
Modification of the chemical and mineralogical composition
Alter internal structure of rocks by adding/removing elements
Most common processes
• Hydrolysis: chemical breakdown of compounds due to a reaction with water
• Oxidation: moving/losing of electrons in a reaction
• Reduction: gaining of electron in a reaction b/n two chemicals
• Hydration: a substance combine with water
• Carbonation: dissolving co2 with water
• Solution: mixture of two or more substances
6.2.2. Major Soil Types in Ethiopia
Soil in Ethiopia
Basically derived from:
• Crystalline rock
• Volcanic rock
• Mesozoic sedimentary rocks
Classified based on the geologic structure
Formed due to long waited deposition of sediments
FAO has identified 18 soil associations
11 soil associations cover about 87.4 % of the land area
6 major groups based on:
• Environmental condition in relation to factors of soli formation
• Characteristic in relation to chemical and physical properties
• Agricultural suitability in relation to texture, structure, topography,
moisture-storage capacity
• Occurrence in relation to general location of the soil types
1. Nitosols and Acrisols
Nitosols
 Develop on gently sloping ground: amount of inclination is low
 Parent materials:
• Trap series volcanic
• Volcanic ash
• Metamorphic rocks
 Strongly weathered soils but far more productive than most other tropical
soils
 Basically associated with
• Highlands with high rainfall
• Originally formed on forest covered areas
Tropical soils
• High annual temperature and rainfall
• The intense weathering causes these soils to be:
• Nutrient poor
• Low in organic matter
Due to the high rainfall, soil leaching which makes it:
• Poor in soluble minerals like potassium and calcium
• Rich in non-soluble minerals like iron and aluminum
• Reddish-brown color because of high concentration of iron (ferric)
oxides due to leaching (loss of soluble substances)
Now widely found on:
• Cultivated areas
• Mountain grasslands
Dominantly found in
• Western highlands (wellega)
• Southwestern highlands (kaffa, illuababora)
• Southern highlands
• Central highlands
• Eastern highlands
Acrisols
• Most inherently infertile soils of the tropics
• Degraded chemically
• Organically very quickly when utilized
• Very low resilience to degradation
• Moderate sensitivity to yield decline
• Characterized by low productive capacity
• Found mostly in some pockets of southwestern highlands of Ethiopia
where there is high rainfall
2. Vertisols
 Heavy clay soils: composed essentially of clay particles
 Extremely difficult to manage (hence easily degraded) but has very high
natural chemical fertility
 Mostly develop on:
• Volcanic plateau basalt: basaltic lava during eruptions
• Trachyte materials: very fine grained igneous rock
• pyroclastic materials: cloud of ash, lava fragments by air
• Sedimentary rocks: deposition and solidification of sediment
• Colluvial slopes: loose debris accumulates bottom of steep slop
• Alluvial plains: sediments redisposed by water
 Highlands and moderate climates soils
 Commonly found in parts of:
• Northwestern
• Central highlands-gojjam, shewa
• Southeastern highlands-, arsi, bale and central
Hararghe
3. Lithosols, Cambisols and Regosol
 Mostly found in
• Rugged topography: rough terrain or landscape/having long narrow shallow depression
• Steep slopes: inclined of the land's surface
• Little evidence of pedogenic processes-soil forming processes
 As a result they are:
• Young: shallow and have little organic matter
• Shallow: Soil depth less than 22.5cm
• Coarse textured: high proportion of sand
• Low water holding capacity: amount of water held by the soil
 Found in areas of low rainfall. So, have limited agricultural use
 Left under the natural plant cover and used for grazing
Found in different parts of:
• Rugged and steep slopes of central highlands
• Rift valley escarpments
• Highlands in of western hararghe
Regosol and Lithosols are also found in the Danakil and eastern
Ogaden
4. Xerosols, Yermosols and Solanchaks
Desert or dry steppe soils
Majorly available in arid and semiarid areas
Characterized by:
• High salt content
• Low organic content
• Poor humus content and nitrogen
• Rich in phosphorus and potash
Xerosols
Characterized as:
• Desert soil
• Low organic content
• Extremely subjected to wind erosion
• Concentration of soluble salts
Found in Ogaden and northeastern escarpments
Yermosols
 Even drier and more problematic than xerosols
 Cover: Ogaden
Afar plains
Solanchaks
 Saline soils develop in areas of high evaporation and capillary action
 Badly managed irrigation schemes
 Cover the
• Ogaden
• Afar plains
• Salty plains of Afar (majorly located )
5. Fluvisols
 Develop on:
• Flat ground
• Nearly flat ground
• Recent alluvial deposits
 Associated with:
• Fluvial (river) deposits: deposited by flowing water of a stream
• Marine (sea) deposits: transported from land areas to the ocean
• Lacustine (lake) deposits: formed in the bottom of ancient lakes
 Formed due to deposition of eroded materials from highlands
 Deposition takes place in:
• Depressions
• Lower valleys
• Lowlands
Home are:
• Lower regions of rivers like omo, awash, abay
• The plains of akobo and baro rivers
• Lakes region (main Ethiopian rift)
Highly variable, but much prized for intensive agriculture because:
• Develop on flat ground, deposition sites
• Associated with rivers and ground water
Fertile and their fertility is always renewed as a result of deposition of new
soil materials
6. Luvisols
 Develop mainly in areas where pronounced wet and dry seasons
 Leaching is not very high
 Good chemical nutrients-best agricultural soils in the tropics
 So, intensively cultivated
 Found on:
• Steep slopes (stony)
• Flat areas (waterlogged)
 They are avoided and left for grazing
 Found in:
• Lake tana area
• Parts of northern, central and eastern highlands
• Southern lowlands
Figure 6.1. Soil types of Ethiopia
6.2.2. Soil Degradation
Definition
 Change in any or all of soil status
 Decline in soil quality
 Deterioration of the
• Physical
• Chemical properties of soil
• Biological
 A critical and growing global problem
 A major concern for at least two reasons
• Undermines the productive capacity of an ecosystem
• Affects global climate
Types
Three major types
I. Physical
 Deterioration of the physical properties of soil
 Includes:
A. Compaction
• Densification of soil
• Deterioration of soil structure by:
• Trampling of cattle or the weight
• Frequent use of heavy machinery
• Soils are susceptible to accelerated runoff and erosion
B. Soil erosion
 Three-phase process consisting of
• Detachment of individual soil particles
• Transportation
• Deposition
Erosion of topsoil by wind and water exceeds soil formation at an
alarming rate
In Ethiopia, average of 42 tons per hectare of soils is eroded
annually
II. Biological
 Results:
• Reduction in soil organic matter content
• Decline in biomass carbon-organic material on earth
• Decrease in activity and diversity of soil fauna
 More severe in the tropics than in the temperate zone due to prevailing:
• High soil temperature
• High air temperatures
 Caused by indiscriminate and excessive use of chemicals and soil pollutants
III. Chemical
Caused by:
• Nutrient depletion
• Excessive leaching of cat-ions
• Some toxic chemicals: any substance harmful to the env’t
Causes
 Results from
• Natural causes
• Human-induced causes
 Natural causes:
• Topographic
• Climatic factors such as :
• Steep slopes
• Frequent floods and tornadoes
• Storms and high-velocity wind
• High-intensity rains
• Drought in dry regions
 Anthropogenic/human causes
• Deforestation and overexploitation of vegetation
• Overgrazing: intensive grazing for extended periods of time
• Indiscriminate use of agrochemicals: a chemical product used in agriculture
• Lack of soil conservation practices
• Over extraction of ground water
6.2.3. Soil Erosion Control Measures
Soil conservation
Aim
 Reduce erosion to a level at which the maximum sustainable level
of agricultural production
 Since erosion is a natural process, it cannot be prevented
 But it can be reduced to a maximum soil loss
Control mechanisms
 Two major mechanisms
A. Biological
 Include:
• Vegetative strips: between agricultural fields and the water course
• Plantation: planting a few plants on a large scale
• Reforestation: action of renewing forest cover
 Can:
• Prevent splash erosion: first stage of the erosion process when raindrops bare soil
• Reduces the velocity of surface runoff
• Increases surface roughness which reduces runoff
• Increases infiltration: water on the ground surface enters the soil
B. Physical
 Control the movement of water and wind over the soil surface
 Major types:
• Terracing: step-like landform
• Check dams: a small dam constructed across a drainage ditch
• Gabion: wire mesh baskets filled with cobbles
• Trench: a long, steep-sided, narrow depression
• Contour ploughing: farming practice of plowing
• Soil bunds: collect surface run-off, increase water infiltration
6.3. Natural Vegetation of Ethiopia
6.3.1. Introduction
Natural Vegetation
Definition
 A plant cover that develops with little or no human interference
 Any original plant cover grown in an area
 Uneven distribution
 Majorly controlled by:
• Climatic factors
• Soil types
• Drainage
However, to a large extent, temperature and precipitation affect
the spatial distribution and the original plant cover of a
region
Natural vegetation of an area becomes a very good indicator of
the climatic conditions
Importance
Vital for human beings in many ways:
• Provide shelter and food
• Source of fuel
• Source of pasture and grazing
• Raw material for industries
• Source of timber
• Source of non-timber products
Used for:
• Moderating effect on local climate
• Home of wild life
• Medicinal values
• Minimizing soil erosion
Ethiopia's natural vegetation are to a large extent determined by:
• Elevation (and temperature)
• Rainfall
Lowlands
• Due to their low rainfall and high temperature have harsh environment
• Characterized by xeromorphic plants: plants which are adapted to drought
and high temperatures
Highlands
• Characterize high altitude areas up to about 3000 meter
• Cooler than the lowlands
• Adequate moisture a variety of forests
• Plants growth is limited by the low temperature
• Ethiopia possesses an estimated number of 6000 species of higher
plants of which 10% are endemic
6.3.2. Major Natural Vegetation Types of Ethiopia
Taking altitude into consideration, five broadly groups
vegetation belts:
1. Afro-alpine and sub-afro alpine region
2. Forest region
3. Woodland Savannah region
4. Steppe region
5. Semi-desert region
1. Afro-alpine and Sub-afro alpine Region

 Largest extent in Ethiopia

 Also known as high mountain vegetation
 Similar to the Alpine vegetation in temperate regions
 Found on mountains between 3,200 and 4,620 m.a.s.l
 Covers nearly 1.3% of the total landmass of Ethiopia
Afro-alpine region
 Found at very high altitudes b/n 4,000 – 4,620 m
 Its climate is controlled by latitude and altitude
 Annul PPT b/n 800 and 1,500 mm in the form of sleet or snow
 Temperature records of 0oc and below
 Soils mostly shallow and eroded
 Vegetation of this region are:
• Bale and semein mountains
• Consists of grasslands, scrub, mosses and lichens
• Dominant species in this region are Giberra
Sub-afro-alpine region
 Found at a lower elevation b/n 3,300 and 4,000 meters
 Plants adapted less extreme environment than the afro-alpine
 Vegetation in region are:
• Dominated by woodland, scrub stages and wet grasslands
• Dominant species in this regions are Asta
2. Forest Region
Forest
 A complex ecosystem consisting predominantly of trees
 Not all forests are similar in terms of:
• Species composition
• Structure
• Physiognomy: physical characteristics
 Determined by:
• Climate
• Soil types
• Topography
• Elevation
 Characterized by variation in mean annual RF b/n 200 and 2,200 mm
 Two broad classification due to wide variations in rainfall and
altitude
• Highlands forests
• Lowland forests
 Highland forests include:
• Kosso, Tid
• Kerkha, Zigba
• Keraro, Weyra
 Lowland forests include
• Baphia
• Gallery (Riverine) Forests
• Stretch along the banks of the lower courses of rivers
• Classified as lowland forests
• Found in some places such as the banks of
• Awash
• Wabishebelle
• Ghenale
• Dominant species include:
• Sholla
• Acacia trees
3. Woodland Savannah Region
 Found in areas of wide altitudinal ranges (250-2,300 m)
 Mean annual rainfall ranges b/n 200 and 1,400 mm
 Its large part of this region is found at a lower elevation and in a drier
environment
 Vegetation types are:
• Intermediate characteristics between savannahs and woodlands are shrub
lands and bush lands
• known for their xeromorphic characteristics: shading of leaves during the
dry season
 Broadly classified into three divisions
Juniper woodlands (Tid)
• Dominant species for both the
• Juniper forests
• Juniper procera (tid)
• Height 3 - 45 meters tall in the forests
• Height 10 -15 meters in the woodlands
Acacia woodlands
• Dominated by both trees and shrubs, which belong to the same
genus 'Acacia'
• Example:
• Grar
• Konter
Mixed deciduous woodlands
• Most of the trees shed their leaves during the dry season
4. Steppe and Semi Desert Regions
 Found in arid and semiarid where:
• Temperature is very high
• Rainfall very low
 Both are found at low elevations
• Steppe: At elevations of 100 - 1,400 m.a.s.l
Mean annual rainfall of 100 to 550 mm
Growing period lasts up to 2 months
• Semi-deserts: At elevation of 130 -600 m.a.s.l
Mean annual rainfall 50 to 300 mm
Growing period a maximum of one month
 Soils in both regions are generally alkaline and saline
 Xerophytic: Dominant vegetation in this region
Drought-resisting plants
Example: Short shrubs
Grass species
A variety of acacias
6.3.3. Natural vegetation Degradation
 A rapid growth and dense population has led to:
• Overexploitation of the land
• Clearing of new land for agriculture
 Ethiopia's forest resources have been disappearing at an alarming
rate
 A century ago, forests covered about 40 % of the total land area
 Major causes for the gradual disappearance of the natural vegetation
in Ethiopia are:
• Clearing of forests for cultivation
• Timber exploitation practices
• Charcoal burning
• Cutting for fuel
• Extensions of coffee and tea production areas
• Overgrazing
• Expansion of settlements both rural and urban, and clearing for
construction
6.3.4. Natural Vegetation Conservation
Conservation of biodiversity
 Protection and management of biodiversity so as to:
• Maintain at least its current status
• Derive sustainable benefits for present and future generation
 Three main approaches
A. Protection
 Designation and management of some form of protected area
 Protected areas include:
• Sanctuaries: natural habitat
• National parks
• Community conservation areas
B. Sustainable forest management
 Sustainable harvesting of forest products
C. Restoration or rehabilitation
 Process of assisting the recovery of a forest ecosystem i.e. Degraded
Damaged
Destroyed
 Involve the re-establishment of the characteristics of a forest
ecosystem such as:
• Composition
• Structure
• Function
6.4. Wild Life/wild animals in Ethiopia
6.4.1. Introduction
In Ethiopia
 Unique and characteristic fauna with a high level of endemicity
 Wide range of ecosystems endowed with:
• High faunal diversity
• Great varieties of habitats
 However, data on faunal resource of the country is as a whole is
limited to:
• Mammals
• Birds
• Reptiles
• Amphibians
• A few groups of arthropods
 Ethiopia has about
• 860 avian species (16 endemic species and two endemic genera)
• 279 species of mammals (31 endemic species and six endemic genera)
• 201 species of reptiles (14 endemic species)
• 23 species of amphibians (23 endemic species)
• 150 freshwater fish (6 endemic species)
 A total of 279 mammalian species of which 31 are endemic are
known to occur in Ethiopia including those that require urgent
conservation action i.e.
• Walia Ibex
• Gelada
• Mountain Nyala
• Ethiopian Wolf
• Starck’s Hare
Wild life in Ethiopia
 Mainly concentrated in southern and western parts
 Classified into five major groups
1. Common wild animals
• Found in many parts of the country
• Example: hyenas, jackals
2. Game (lowland) animal
 Many herbivores like giraffes, wild asses, zebras etc.
 Carnivores like lions, leopards, and cheetahs)
3. Tree animals or arboreals
• Monkeys, baboons

4. A variety of birds
• Found in the rift valley lakes

5. Rare animals
 Includes:
• Gelada baboon and semien fox scattered in highlands
• Walia- ibex in the semien massifs
• Nyala in the arsi bale massifs)
6.4.2. Wildlife Conservation
 Wildlife plays an important role in several ways:
• Ecological importance
• Economic importance
• Investigatory importance
• Conservation of biological diversities
 Used for:
• Scientific and educational researches (valuable information for medical
purposes and environmental studies)
• Physical and mental recreation (aesthetic value)
• Promotion of tourism (economic value)
• Its potential for domestication
• Maintaining ecological balance: balance living organism and
environment/coexistence of all organisms
 To prevent the destruction of wildlife a total area of nearly 100,000
km2 of national parks, sanctuaries, community conservation areas, botanical
gardens, wildlife reserves etc established in different part of the country
 Hence in Ethiopia there are:
• 21 major national parks
• 2 major wildlife sanctuaries
• 3 wildlife reserves
• 6 community conservation areas
• 2 wildlife rescue centers
• 22 controlled hunting areas
• 2 botanical gardens
• 3 biosphere reserves
Figure 6.2. Spatial distribution of National Parks
Many of the national parks in Ethiopia have different turnovers of
animals such as:
• Buffaloes
• Zebras
• Lions
• Elephants
• Ostriches
• Giraffes
• Oryx
• African wild asses
 National parks are unique in their wild animals
A. Abiyatta-Shalla lakes National Park
• Predominantly bird sanctuary
• Important bird species include the flamingos and pelicans
B. Omo, Mago and Gambela National Parks
• Have hippopotamus and crocodiles in rivers and lakes
C. Semien and Bale Mountains National Parks
• Have rare animals like:
• Walia ibex
• Semien fox
• Gelada baboon
• Nyala
6.4.3. Challenges of wildlife conservation in Ethiopia
 Conservation of Ethiopia's biodiversity and ecosystems is vital to:
• Ensure sustainable development
• Mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change
• Prevent the collapse of life-supporting ecosystem services:
• Biomass production
• Soil formation
• Water cycling
• Provisioning of habitat
• Production of oxygen
 Protected areas were created to protect the major biodiversity
 However, wildlife resources are:
• Usually undervalued
• Under threat
Major challenges
• Limited awareness on the importance of wild life
• Expansion of human settlement in protected areas
• Conflict over resource
• Overgrazing (fodder and wood)
• Illegal wildlife trade
• Excessive hunting
• Tourism and recreational pressure
• Mining and construction material extraction
• Forest fire
 CHAPTER SEVEN
POPULATION OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN
7.1. Introduction
Human beings:
• Producer wealth from NRS
• Consumer
Interaction with nature for a living
• Develop
• Destroy their environment
Many disciplines study human population but their differences lie in
the: Methodologies they employ
Aspects they emphasize
Geography
• Study of regional/areal d/ces in the distribution of: natural
cultural phenomena
• Study about population in aims at showing and explaining
regional/spatial differences on population:
• Distribution and densities
• Numbers
• Dynamics
• Characteristics and qualities
• Human-env’t interactions
• Study population variation at: District
Provincial
Regional level
National
Continental
Global
7.2. Population data : Uses and sources

Population data
Regular and reliable population/demographic data:
• Vital for effective socio-economic:
• Development
• Planning
• Administration
• Needed to plan for:
• Provision of infrastructures
• Establishing voting district boundaries
• Estimating future tax revenue
• Designing public programs
• Having population information
Population sources
Three conventional sources:
• Census
• Sample survey
• Vital registration
A. Census
Total process of: collecting
compiling demographic data
publishing
Major characteristics:
• Universality: inclusion of all persons in a given area during the count
• Periodicity: regular time intervals to a defined point of time usually 10
years and 5 years
• Simultaneity: a very limited time duration
Two procedures for collecting census data:
 Dejure approach
• Counting people to their usual place of residence
• Where he/she lives most of the time
• Gives a picture of the total permanent population of an area

 Defacto approach
• Recorded at the place where he/she was found at the time of the census
• Give enlarged totals to holiday resorts
B. Sample Survey
A defined population/sample/ is selected

Advantageous:
• Costs can be greatly reduced
• Simple to administer
• Taken much faster
• Obtain more detailed information

Weaknesses:
• Sampling errors
• Inadequate coverage
 Data from most censuses and sample surveys include:
• Geographic location
• Age
• Sex
• Marital status
• Citizenship
• Place of birth
• Relationship to the head of household
• Religion
• Educational characteristics
• Occupation
• Fertility
• Income
• Language
• Ethnic characteristics
• Disabilities
• Migration
C. Vital Registration
A system of: continuous

permanent recording/registration of vital events

compulsory

legal

vital events like births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and adoptions

More precise than census/sample survey

Provides time series data

Population data could suffer from inaccuracy resulting from:
• Poor and inadequately financed
• Poorly trained enumerator
• Distrust and ignorance of censuses
• False statements specially of age and income
• Constant changes in administrations
• Omission of more inaccessible areas
• Wide difference in connotation of terms like language, ethnicity, and
occupation
Errors are introduced at the stage of data:
• Collection
• Processing
• Analyses
• Writing up of the report
7.3. Population Dynamics: Fertility, Mortality and Migration

Introduction
 Population of any particular region (country) grows/declines as a result of
the combined effect of the three demographic variables:
• Fertility
• Mortality
• Migration
Ethiopia
• Endowed with a large and fast-growing population
• Ranking 2nd in Africa after Nigeria
• In first ever census (1984), its population was 42.2 million
• Estimated rate of growth of the population in 1984 was 2.9
percent
• In the second census (1994), population grew to 53.5 million
• Population reached about 73.8 million in 2007
According to CSA projection, Ethiopia has
• An estimated 2019 population of 112 million
• Ranks 12th in the world
• Current growth rate is about 2.6%
• Largest part of the population (80%) is rural based
 Like many other developing countries, the country has:
• A youthful population
• About 65 % of the population is below 24 years of age
• The population is also unevenly distributed
7.3.1. Demographic Measurements
In Ethiopia
 Two principal determinants of population growth are:
• Fertility
• Mortality
• International migration is insignificant
 Basic demographic measurements include:
1. Crude Birth Rate (CBR)
 Number of live births per 1000 population
2. General Fertility Rate (GFR)
 Total number of live births per women of reproductive age
 Number of live births per 1000 females aged 15-49 years
 More sensitive measure of fertility than the CBR, since it refers to the
age and sex group capable of giving birth (females 15-49 years of age
 Specific measure of fertility as it specifically relates births to women in
the reproductive age
3. Total Fertility Rate (T.F.R.)
 Average number of children that a woman would have at the end of her
reproductive period if the current age specific fertility rate remains
unchanged
4. Crude Death Rate
 Number of deaths per 1000 population in a year
5.Infant Mortality rate
 Total number of deaths of infants per 1000 live Birth

 Draws special attention because of

• Its large size
• Heavy impact on the crude death rate
6. Maternal Mortality Rate
 Death of mothers in connection from pregnancy and birth complications
per 100,000 live birth
7. Life Expectancy at birth
 Average number of years that a newly born baby is expected to live
 Used as a summary measure of the mortality experience of the whole
population

8. Natural Rate of Increase

 The d/ce b/n CBR and CDR expressed in percentage
7.3.2. Levels and trends in Fertility and Mortality rates in
Ethiopia
 Birth and death rates show significant spatiotemporal variation
 Clear differences in birth and death rates are emerging between rural and
urban areas of Ethiopia
In Urban areas
• Have lower birth and death rates
• Living and health conditions are better
• Family planning program is gaining ground
• Women have an average, of 2.3 children
In rural areas
• Have higher birth and death rates
• Women have an average of 5.2 children
TFR by region, in 2016 fertility was
• Addis Ababa (1.8 children per woman- lowest )
• Dire dawa (3.1)
• Gambella (3.5)
• Amhara (3.7)
While regions that have TFR rates more than the national average are
• Somali (7.2)
• Afar (5.5)
• Oromia (5.4)
• Tigray (4.7)
Recently, fertility is showing a declining trend
Total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 7.52 in 1984 to 6.74 in 1994,
Currently, women in Ethiopia have an average of 4.6 children
Similarly, mortality rates are also showing a declining trend
 Before 2000, almost all regional states recorded more than 100 infant
deaths
 2011 IMR in all regions was lower than 100, except for Benishangul Gumuz
 MR also show considerable variation by reigns
 In 2016, IMR at the country level was 54 where it was
• 48 in urban areas
• 62 in rural Ethiopia
 Lower than national average IMR was recorded in Addis Ababa followed by
Somali and Gambella
 Higher IMR was recorded in Benishangul, followed by SNNPR and Tigray
Life expectancy at birth in Ethiopia:
• Increased from about 36.7 years in the 1960s to 62.6 years in 2016
• Female life expectancy (65.4 years)
• Male life expectancy (61.2 years)
• Greater for urban areas than for rural areas
• Highest in Addis Ababa that exceeds the national average
• Lowest is in benishangul- gumuz (47 years) followed by SNNPR (49
years)
High life expectancy and low infant mortality rates for Addis Ababa
may result from relatively easy access to health services
Comparing with other countries, Ethiopia experiencing the highest and
lowest values for the demographic rates
As indicated in Table 7.1:
• An obvious d/c b/n developed and dev’ing countries in the demographic
rates
• All demographic rates are high
• Life expectancies are low for developing countries
 In Ethiopia among the five neighboring countries as part of the
developing world:
• Infant mortality rate is higher than Kenya, Eritrea and Djibouti
• Lowest life expectancy among the counties
• Greater CBR, CDR and IMR
From our neighbors the war-torn Somalia has the:
• Highest death rate
• Lowest life expectancy

The d/ce b/n dev’ing and developed countries in crude death rates is
not as high as the difference in birth rates due to some degree of
improvement in medical services in most developing countries during
the last few decades
As opposed to declining death rates, birth rates have remained high
due to:
• Little family planning practices and lack of population education
• Lower status of women
• Early marriage, particularly of females
• Parents consideration of children as assets
• The relatively high infant and child mortality rates, that trigger couples to
have more births to compensate for the loses
• Perhaps religious influences
Countries of the Horn of Africa
 Have higher population growth rate that exceeds 2.6 percent
 Population is growing faster and annual addition to the total population is
enormous
 Consequences of this rapid population growth under conditions of slowly
growing economy include:
• Low per capita GNP
• Increased unemployment and under -employment
• Mounting social ills such as destitution, begging, theft,
prostitution
• Continuous inflation that erodes purchasing power of the
currency
• Shortage of cultivated land and food shortages
• Overcrowding of infrastructural and social facilities
• Housing problems and increase in urban slums and
squatter settlements
• Environmental problems such as deforestation, soil
erosion, loss of biodiversity and pollution
7.3.3. Migration in Ethiopia and the Horn
Migration
 An old and inevitable phenomenon
 Result of economic and technological progress especially in the fields of
communication and transportation
 A form of geographic mobility involving a permanent or semi-permanent
change of residence
 Multifaceted implications of migration are indicated:
• Migration yields an increased level of urbanization
• Enhances rural-urban linkages in creating an integrated economy
• Influences spatial population distribution
• Negatively influences human fertility and mortality patterns and
levels
• Affects age and sex composition of the population
• Means of achieving economic efficiency
• Cause and consequence of inequality and unequal development
• Cause and consequence of diversity
• Mechanism of spreading cultures
• Creation and strengthening of a sense of nationhood and national unity
• Creates a creative and open society to new ideas
A. Internal Migration in Ethiopia
. In Ethiopia:
 An ancient original home of human migration
 Both short and long migratory movements due to:
• Demographic
• Environmental
• Socio-economic factors
• Political
 Population movement accelerated in the early twenty century with
the:
• Rise in urban centers
• Italian occupation
 However, voluntary and individual rural out migration during the
Derg Regime was low for the following reasons:
 1976/77 “land to the tiller:
• Granted land to the rural landless farmers
• Reduced their motivation for out migration
 Establishment of:
• Urban dwellers association
• Rural peasant associations
 1975 “urban land nationalization”:
• Led to a chronic shortage of urban housing
• Discouraged migration
 High level of urban
• Unemployment
• Underemployment
 Soldiers to the warfront that kept the youth from moving to the
urban areas
During the current regime, restriction to distant migration
out of rural areas were:
 Ethnic politics and administrative barriers that discourage:
• Inter-regional migration
• Sound spatial distribution of the rural population

 Obligatory government's policy:

• Demands continued residence in one's rural kebele/PA

• Discourages the movement of rural population out of

agriculture

 High cost of migration relative to expected:

• Employment opportunity
• Return
 However, important push factors in the out migration of people out of
their rural home were:
• Landlessness of emerging rural youth
• Drought and rainfall unreliability in the highlands
• Land degradation
• Diminished carrying capacity of the land

 Internal migration in Ethiopia is, therefore, among the highest in

Africa

 According to the 2007 Census result, the country has:

• A relatively high level of internal migration
• 16.6 % is labeled as migrant population
B. International migration
 International migration In Ethiopia:
 Accelerated after the 1974 revolution where many refugees were
attempting to escape:
• Political conflict
• Oppression
• Famine
 Resulted due to:
• Attempt of political centralization and oppression
• Independence struggle of Eritrea from 1961-1991
• Period of red terror between 1976-79
 Today, Ethiopia could be considered as one of the countries that
has a large number of emigrants overseas
 Ethiopia's diaspora፡
 Estimated to be about four million
 Considered one of the largest of all African countries
 Large numbers of Ethiopian migrants are found:
• Middle East
• USA
• Canada
• Europe, African countries such as Sudan, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana
 The causes of cross-border migration include:
• Lack of employment and livelihood opportunities
• Negative attitudes attached with low paying and informal job and poor
work ethics amongst the youth
• Rural underemployment and lack of resources
• Unfavorable political context and insecurity
• Civil war
• Political turmoil
• Ethiopia's location in the fragile region of the horn of Africa and its long
boundary
• Existence of large number of local brokers
• Misinformation and false promises by brokers/traffickers
• Success stories of pioneering migrants
• Family and peer pressure
• Emergence of “culture of migration” and migration networks
• Demand-side factors of migration
Ethiopia
 A country of origin, transit and destination for international migration
 Appears to be a center on three land routes:
 The first migration
• leads from the horn of Africa via Sudan, chad, Egypt and Libya
to the Mediterranean sea towards Europe
 The second
• through Somalia and Djibouti to Yemen across the gulf of Aden
and red sea towards the middle east
• 60 to 70% of Ethiopians migrating to the middle east are
irregular migrants
 The third migration route
• southern irregular route that is an overland route Kenya -
Tanzania towards to south Africa
 Bole International Airport is also reported to be a hub of transit on
the air route leading to Europe and the Middle East
According to ILO in 2016, migration source areas of Ethiopia were:
A. Dessie (North and South Wollo) area:
• includes kemise, bati, kalu (kombolcha), dessie and its
surroundings, tehuledere (haiq, girana, bistima, bakaksa,
worebabo), mersa, and woldia
B. Shashemene (Western Arsi and Bale) area:
• include Shashemene-Zuria, Kofele, Kore, and Assassa
C. Jimma (Western Ethiopia) area:
• includes Kaffa, Wolega and Iluababora, and more specifically
Mana, Kerisa, Dedo, Agaro, Setema, Sigmo, and Gomma areas
D. Mekelle/Tigray area:
• specific localities
include Alamata, Kobo, Raya, Erob,
Edagahamus, Gulomehadi, Etsebi, and Weneberta
E. Other prominent emigration source areas
 Include (Assela-Zuria, Adama-Zuria, Ambo, Fitche, Chancho, and
Western Hararghe (Hirna, Gelemso); Shewa Robit, Debre Birhan,
and Debre Tabor
 As a major destination country, Ethiopia hosts the second largest
number of refugees in Africa

 According to UNHCR 2019, refugee and asylum seeker population

in Ethiopia was about one million

 Many migrants, refugees and asylum seekers entering Ethiopia are

• Escaping political and civil unrest
• Harsh or undesirable conditions (E.g Drought)
7.4. Age and Sex Structure of Ethiopian Population
Age Structure
 Distribution of population by age groups
 Most used age groups are:
• Five-year age groups (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, ..., 60-64, 65 and above)
• Broad age groups (0-14, 15-64, 65 and above)
 Age groups 0-14 are known as young age
 Age groups 15-64 and are known as working age
 Age groups 65 and above are known as old age
• Young age population is very large
• Old age population is very small
 Due to predominance of young age population, the median age of
the population is about 17 years
 High percentage for the young age group due to:
• High birth rate
• Natural increase
 Small percentage of the old age group due to:
• High mortality rate
• Low life expectancy
 Most developed countries have:
• Working age population of about 60 %
• Old age population of about 10 % or more
 Young and old ages are dependent on the working age population
Age dependency ratio (A.D.R.)
 Used to show the magnitude of dependency
 Expressed as:
An old age index
 Calculated out of the broad age groups of the population
 Expresses the old age population as the percentage of the working
age population as follows:

 According to 2007 census: Youth dependency ratio was 93

old age index was 6
 It means:
• for every 100 persons in the working age about 93 young dependents
• for every 100 persons in the working age about 6 old persons
 In 2015 population data: the total dependency ratio declined to 82.1
youth dependency ratio was 75.8
 From population pyramids we can tell
• Which groups have large number of people. Young age group
• Which age groups have male-female imbalances…all were
balanced
• The fertility and mortality situations…both were high
 General population pyramids of developing countries like Ethiopia
are:
• Very broad bases showing majority of young age population
• Become thinner and thinner upwards as age advances
• Upper age groups are very small
• Youthful population resulting in heavy youth dependency
• Heavy youth dependency
 Serious implications of heavy youth dependency on socioeconomic
development:
• Heavy burden on the working population
• Household budget to food
• Diversion of limited resources on social services
• Creation of a society with booming babies
• High-level fertility due to by increased number of women
 All these serious implication negatively affecting: Capital formation
Investment
Development
Sex Structure
 Ratio of male population to female population at different age
groups
 Usually expressed as:
 According to the 1984 census result:
• Sex ratio for the country was 99.4…99 males for every 100 females

• Rural population sex ratio was 100.9…100 males for every 100 females

• Urban population sex ratio was 86.8…86.8 males for every 100 females

• Addis Ababa sex ratio was 90.2…90 males for every 100 females
 According to 1994 census result:
• Sex ratio for the country was 101.3…101.3 males for every 100 female

• Rural population sex ratio was 102.6…102.6 males for every 100
females
• Urban population sex ratio was 93.3…93.3 males for every 100 females

• Addis Ababa sex ratio was 94…94 males for every 100 females
 According to 2015 report:
 Sex ratio of Ethiopia was 99.96…. 99.96 males for every 100 females
Sex ratios in Ethiopia
 Generally lower for urban areas

 Higher for rural areas primarily due to larger female in-migration to urban
areas

 Some variation by region:

• In Afar, Somali and Gambella, males exceeds that of females
• In Addis Ababa, females is higher than the number of males

vary with age:

• High in young age groups=M>F
• Low in adult and old age groups=M<F
7.5. Population Distribution in Ethiopia
Population distribution
 Arrangement of people over space

 Very uneven as a result of: physical factors

human factors

 Physical factors that affect population distribution:

• Climate
• Soil
• Vegetation
• Drainage
• Slope
 Human influences that affect population distribution:
• Historical pattern of population movement
• The type of economic activity
• Urbanization
• Industrialized
• Demographic variables
Figure 7.2: Population Distribution Map of Ethiopia
7.5.1. Measures of Population Distribution
Population Density
 Number of people per unit area
 Several ways of expressing population density
 Three major ways:

A. Crude Density
• Dividing total population to total area
• Does not show variations in population distribution within a given area
• In 1990, it was 40.74 people/km2
• In 1998, it was 52 people/km2
• Currently, it amounted to more than 100/km2
• Considerable variations in population density among the regions of the
country
Regions with largest densities of population includes
• Excluding the urban based administrative regions, SNNP (173
people/km2) followed by Amhara region

Regions with low densities of population includes:

• Gambella (13 people/km2)
• Somali
• Afar
• Benishangul-Gumuz
An enormous variation in density among the zones in Ethiopia
zones with very high densities, where densities exceed 300 persons
per sq.km are:
• Gedeo
• Sidama
• Kambata
• Guraghe
• Wolayta
• Hadiya
Peripheral zones such as Kamashi, and Metekel have population
densities of less than 20 persons/km2
Population densities of lower administrative units are considered the
variations could still be greater
• For instance, Wanago, Damot Gale, Aleta Wendo, Yirga Chefe,
Dara, Kacha Bira, Angacha, Sodo Zuria, Shebedino and Kedida
Gamela have crude densities of exceeding 500 people/km2
Weredas with extremely low densities include Guba of less than 10
people/km2) include: Gog
Vaso
Dolo Bay
Liben
It could be generalized that "the lower the administrative unit
considered, the greater the variations in population density "
Physiological Density
 Ratio between total population and arable part of a country
 In 1998, it was is 61.8 people/km2
 Arable part of Ethiopia, which is used as a denominator here is 969,680
km2
 Compared to Physiological densities of countries like Japan (1,732
people/km2), Egypt (1,575 people/km2) and Netherlands (1,220
people/km2), Ethiopia's physiological density is very low
Agricultural Density
Only agricultural population as a numerator and cultivated land as a
denominator
Also called rural density
In most developing countries there is not a significant difference
between rural and agricultural population
Measure is more meaningful than both crude and physiological density
measures
Gives a better indication of the pressure of population on land
resources
 Rural population/kilometer of cropland is the highest for:
• Somali
• Afar
• Gambella
 This is due to the smaller proportion of land that is:
• appropriate for agriculture
• large landmass and small population
 Highly proper utilization of the land by using:
• Irrigation in Somali and afar
• Investment in gambella regions
 Thus, agricultural density would decline in the years ahead
 Highest agricultural density lies is SNNP
 Smallest agricultural density lies in: Benishangul (3.8)
Amahra (5)
Oromia (5.6)
Tigray (5.9)
Two factors for variations in agricultural density are:
• Proportion of cultivated land
• Urban population of the regions

Other things being equal, agricultural density tends to be higher

where both the percentage of : cultivated land

urban population are low

7.5.2. Factors Affecting Population Distribution in Ethiopia
 Distribution of population in Ethiopia is very uneven

 Unevenness is the result of the combined effect of:

• Physical factors
• Human factors
Physical factors
 Most important physical factors in Ethiopia include climate, mainly
• Rainfall and temperature
• Soil: good and vegetation cover
• vegetation

Other physical factors: drainage and slope.. restricting human access,

habitation and cultivation

In Ethiopia, most of these physical factors are influenced by altitude

In lowlands, diminish habitability due to:
• High temperatures
• Low and irregular rainfall

In highland plateaus, densely settled due to:

• Rainfall is high
• Temperature is moderate

• Effect of climate upon population distribution is immensely important:

• Directly upon humans
• Indirectly through its influence upon soils, vegetation and agriculture
Table 7.4 shows that:
• Altitude range of 1800 m.a.s.l: 77.5% of the population of the country lives

37.6 % of the total area

• Area above 1,400 m.a.s.l.: supports 89.0 % of the population

makes up 65.7 % of the total area

• But, there are many severely dissected areas within the highlands with
a few or no people
 Lowlands are characterized by:
• Scarcity of rainfall
• High temperature
• Poor vegetation and soil conditions
• Infested with tropical diseases like malaria and yellow fever

 All the above characteristics contribute to the sparse population

distribution
 The lower valleys of the major rivers of Ethiopia are likely to attract more
people from the highlands due to improvement of:
• Irrigation agricultural
• Development projects
• Medical technology
Human Factors

Human factors of population distribution divided into two:

A. Historical pattern of population movement
B. Types of economic activities
A. Historical pattern of population movement

After the decline of the Axumite Empire, there was:

• Southward movement of the tigre, amhara, agew and guraghe
populations starting from the 7th century
• Large-scale northward movement of the Oromo's during the 16th and
17th centuries

Two waves of population movements, offer a significant explanation

of denser population distribution in and around the central highlands
B. Economic Activities
Types of productive activities strongly influence the carrying capacity
of land

The carrying capacity in turn influences the number of people that can
inhabit an area

Arid and semi-arid lowlands of Ethiopia:

• Inhabited by pastoralists and semi-pastoralists
• Sparsely settled
In pastoral herding, population densities are extremely low
 Compared to areas of pastoral herding, cultivated lands have:
• Greater carrying capacity
• Supporting higher population densities
• Type of crop cultivated result in varying densities, for instance:

 Northern and north central areas of Ethiopia with cereals as the main crops
have relatively:
• Low yield per unit area
• Low carrying capacity
• Moderate density
 South-central zones and weredas with enset and coffee regions of Ethiopia have:
• Greater yield per unit area

• Very high density of population

 Development of commercial farms in some parts of Ethiopia like the Awash

valley is also a significant factor in causing:
• Population movements
• Changes in the population concentration

 Urban and industrial growths as well as transportation routes can be considered

as some of the important elements in bringing about:
• Population re-distribution over time
• Explaining density variation
 7.6. Socio-cultural Aspects of Ethiopian Population: Education, Health
and Languages
7.6.1. Education
Bacon of opportunity
Provides a platform for a decent livelihood
Enabled and empowered to effectively participate in the development
process
High level of education correlates with:
• Higher incomes
• Better health
• Longer life span
• Lower mortality
Human capital development is a cause and consequence of
development
Education is also a human right
The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)
 Total number of children that have enrolled in grades 1-8

 Nationally there are more children in primary grades

 Wide regional variation

For instance:
• Lowest GER at Dire Dawa (70%) and Afar (66%)
• High GERs at Gambella and Addis Ababa both (over 140%)

 As regards to the gender parity:

• More females are attending school than males in Addis Ababa
• Lower female participation is found in somali and harari regions
In terms of student-section ratio:
• National average is 55 for grades 1-8
• Highest student –section ratio is in somali region

The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR):

• National level is 46 for grades 1-8
• Highest PTR in ethio-somali, followed by oromiya and SNNP
• Lowest PTR in addis ababa

 There were 3,156 secondary schools in 2016 in Ethiopia

 Gross enrolment ratio-GER
• National GER for all secondary grades was 29.04%, implying many
children who are not completing primary education and proceeding to
secondary education
• Addis ababa has the highest GER at 82.27%
• Nationally, GER for males is higher compared to females
• More females are attending secondary education in: Tigray
Amhara
Addis ababa

• Lowest enrolment rate in secondary education in: Afar region

Somali regions
Recently,
• Developments are encouraging
• Primary education is almost universalized
• At least one primary school in each rural kebele
• Hundreds of thousands of students are enrolled in the tertiary level of
education every year
• Public universities: only 2 in the early 1990s
reached 45 today
7.6.2. Health
 Government of Ethiopia:
 Investing heavily in health system
 Improving the health status of Ethiopians
 Despite recognizable improvements, still a heavy burden of diseases
 But a low rate of: self-reported illness
health facility coverage
utilization

 Majority of ill health is related to:

• Potentially preventable
• Communicable diseases
• Nutritional disorders
 Root causes of the poor health status of the population are:
1. Lack of access to clean water
• Rivers and lakes remain the most important sources of water which is
largely unsafe
2. Lack of adequate nutrition
• Malnutrition is: rampant
among the highest in the world
• About half of children under the age of five are: malnourished
stunted
wasted
• Malnutrition still remains high as the country due to:
• Not attained food security
• Poor knowledge about: nutritional requirements
dietary habits
3. Disease related to beliefs, behaviors and traditional practices

Negative effect on health status include: Circumcision

Early marriage

Low value of girls and children

4. Lack of health services
• Health care infrastructure had suffered from under funding
• Health service coverage is less than 50% of the population
• Services tend to be urban biased
 Poor health and inadequate nutrition are likely to have life-long effect on
children
 Protein and energy malnutrition affects adult working population
 Impact on agricultural production and productivity
 Major killer diseases accounting for about ¾ of all deaths include:
• Prenatal-maternal conditions
• Acute respiratory infection
• Malaria
• Nutritional deficiency for children under 5 years
• Diarrhea
• AIDS, tuberculosis
Despite significant improvements, Ethiopia's health situation is still at
a staggering situation

To overcome the lack of human resources for health and low
utilization of health services, the country adopted a strategy to:
• Train the health extension workers (HEP)
• Train the midwives
• Scaling up family planning
 Variations among the regions of Ethiopia in population per hospital and per
hospital bed
 In Amhara, Somali and SNNP region:
• High population - hospital bed ratios
• Population-hospital ratios of over 10,000
• Many people with no chance of seeing a doctor
 Large numbers of people travel several tens of kilometers to arrive at
the location of the nearest hospital
 Due to high population growth rate:
• Population per hospital and per hospital bed will continue
• Problems in education, health and other areas of services will continue
7.6.3. Languages Families and Languages of Ethiopia
 About 80 languages are spoken
 According to the 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, major
mother tongues were: Afan Oromo accounting 33.8%
Amharic accounting 29.3%
Other mother tongues were:
• Somaligna (6.2%)
• Tigrigna (5.9%)
• Sidamigna (4.0%)
• Wolaytigna (2.2%)
• Guragigna (2%)
• Afarigna (1.7%),
• Hadyiyagna (1.7%)
• Gamogna (1.5%)
 Some of the languages are spoken by a few thousands

 Ethiopian languages belong to two supper families:

• Afro-Asiatic
• Nilo-Saharan

 Most Ethiopian languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic supper family

A. Afro-Asiatic

 Divided into three families:

 Semitic
 Cushitic
 Omotic
Cushitic
• Predominantly spoken in central, southern, eastern and northeastern parts
of Ethiopia
• Mainly in afar, oromia and somali region
• Largest number of speakers
• Widest spatial coverage
• Consists of many individual languages:
• Oromigna
• Somaligna
• Sidamigna
• Afarigna
• Kembatigna
• Hadiyigna
• Alabigna, gedeogna, and others
Semetic
 Spoken in northern, central and eastern parts of Ethiopia
 Particularly, spoken in the regional states of:
• Tigray
• Amhara
• Harari
• SNNP
 Consists languages of:
• Amarigna
• Tigrigna
• Guragigna
• Siltigna
• Aderigna
• Argobigna
Omotic
 Predominantly spoken in the south–central and south-western part of eth.
 Mainly between: lakes of southern rift valley
omo river
 Numerous although they are not as widely spread as the cushitic and
omotic
 Consists languages of:
• Wolaitigna
• Gamogna
• Kullogna
• Kefigna
• Kontigna
 Relatively small number of people speaks most of the languages
B. Nilo-Saharan
 Spoken in the western lowlands of Ethiopia
• Along the border with Sudan
• Gambella regional states
• Benishangul gumuz regional states
 Spoken by small numbers of people
 Consists languages of:
• Kunamigna
• Bejigna
• Gumuzigna
• Maogna
• Kewamigna
• Nuerigna
• Annukigna, and others
7.7. Settlement Types and Patterns
7.7.1. Types of Settlement
Settlements
Places that are inhabited by people more or less on a permanent
basis, carry out a variety of activities such as
• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Commerce
Different settlement types develop mainly due to:
• Physical factors
• Human factors
Based on dominant economic activity, population densities and
availability of socioeconomic and infrastructural facilities, they are
divided into two:
• Rural settlements
• Urban settlements
 Towns or urban centers have
• Non-agricultural activities as dominant
• Population densities are generally very high

 Rural areas:
• Almost totally agricultural
• Population densities are generally low
Rural Settlement
 Vast majority of the Ethiopian population:
• Still lives in rural settlements
• Consisting of hamlets and villages

 Temporary or permanent depending on whether there is frequent change in

the site of the settlements
Temporary / Mobile Settlements

Include most of the area of:

• Lowlands in most parts of the rift valley
• Peripheral areas
• Generally hot and dry

Characterized by pastoral herding

Settlements are mobile because pastoralists have always been

searching for new sites for water and pasture for their livestock
Major problem about mobile settlements is that of:
• Providing social services
• Fixed physical infrastructures and services cannot move from place to
place
• Involves change of livelihood strategies, attitudes and value systems

So, a serious development task that could involve the pastoralist

community and governmental and non-governmental stakeholders;
and perhaps it could last for generations
Permanent Settlements
 No frequent changes in their locations
 Most Ethiopian rural highland settlements
 Crop cultivation is practiced
 Two types

A. Scattered (diffused or dispersed)

Homesteads are separated by relatively long distances which could

be associated with:
• Individual land tenure
• Desire of people to live near to their farm holdings
B. Grouped (clustered or nucleated)

Characterized by concentration of large number of homesteads and

households at one place for/to:
• Reasons of defense
• Provide threshold population
• Support basic social services
• Case of villagization program during the Dergue
7.7.2. Urban Settlements and Urbanization in Ethiopia
Urbanization
 Increase in the percentage of the population living in urban centers
 Process of becoming:
• Urban
• Moving to cities
• Changing from agriculture to other pursuits of life
 Crucial to: sustain the pace of economic development
improve the quality of life
 Linkage between urban and rural areas could:
• Foster efficiency of value chains in agro-industry
• Improve agricultural productivity
• Promote service expansion
• Create sufficient industrial jobs in urban centers
 However, if the rapid urbanization is not properly managed, it bring a
number of development challenges:
• Unemployment
• Housing shortages
• Informal settlements
• Infrastructural shortages
• Service shortages
• Poverty
• Social distress
 Major criteria used to classify settlements as urban in Ethiopia are:
I. Minimum of 2,000 people
II.Two-thirds of the population engaged in non-agricultural activities
III. Chartered municipality
IV. Presence of social services and amenities
In1984:
• Number of settlements was about 322

• 10.23 % of the total population

• One of the least urban population sizes in the world

In 1994
 Number of settlements increased to 539

12.8 % of the country's population

In 2007, the number further rose to 927

Today, the urban population is about 20% of the country's population

An overview of the History of Urbanization in Ethiopia

Before the foundation of Addis Ababa as a capital city, the earliest

capitals and other towns did not have a permanent population
exceeding 6000

The only prominent urban centers were:

• Axum
• Lalibela
• Gondar
Modern urbanization in Ethiopia is associated with:
• establishment of Addis Ababa as a capital by Emperor Menelik II in the late
19th century
Unlike earlier capitals, different factors that contributed to the
growing and permanency of Addis Ababa as a capital city are
indicated as follows:
• Introduction of the fast-growing Australian eucalyptus
• introduction of wells and reservoirs
• Introduction of modern schools, hospitals and health centers, hotels,
cafes, bars, bakeries, butcher's shops, cinema, post office, modern
cathedrals, telephone and telegraph system, bank, printing press etc
• construction of roads-Franco-Ethiopian railway
• Italian occupation -intensified the establishment of small-scale industries
and institutions, road construction
• Today, Addis Ababa is not only the capital of Ethiopia but also:
• diplomatic capital of Africa
 Headquarters of AU,UN and Economic Commission for Africa
Addis Ababa
• Geographically, at the very heart of Ethiopia
• A congenial climatic condition
• Excellent connections with all Ethiopia's economic zones
• Connected to the rest of the world via international airlines

Ethiopia:
• Very low level of urban development, despite its high rate of
urbanization for the past several decades
• Least urbanized country even by African standards
• Regarded as a “vast urban desert‟
The country's low level of urbanization can be attributed to:
• Self-sufficiency of agriculture
• Low level of industrialization
• Low level structural transformation and economic development
• Morphology of the country hindered transportation and communication
• Continual warfare and frequent changes of the royal residence
• Lack of employment and housing shortage
• Political instability, ethnic conflict and social unrest
Drivers of and opportunities for more Urbanization in Ethiopia
 Today in Ethiopia
• Urbanization is proceeding at a much faster rate
• Urban population is growing at about 5% a year, primarily driven by
migration to urban areas
• Proportion of the urban population of in 2015 (20%) is projected to
mount to 37% by 2035
 Conditions contributing to expansion of urban areas (drivers of
urbanization) are :
• Establishment of Addis ababa
• Construction of the Ethio-djibouti railway
• Five-year Italian occupation
• Integration of the provincial capitals and major administrative centers
• Political decentralization and provision of administrative status
• Proximity to existing cities and main transportation corridors
• High population density and growth rates
• Presence of commercial farms, mining areas and Agro-industries
• Large infrastructure investments
• Opening of universities
• Tourism assets and attractions
• Development of border towns
Distribution of Urban Centers in Ethiopia
• Shows spatial variation
• Varying concentration of industries and social services
• According to MOUC hierarchy of urban centers are:
1.Addis Ababa Metropolitan cluster includes:
• Addis Ababa and its surrounding towns
• Adama and its surrounding towns
2. Secondary city clusters consist of:
• Lake Tana Urban Cluster:
• Bahir Dar
• Gondar
• Debre Tabour
• Debre Markos
• South Rift Valley Urban Cluster:
• Hawassa-Shashemene-Dila
• Hosana-Sodo-Arba Minch
• Eastern Urban Cluster:
• Dire Dawa
• Harar
• Jigjiga
• Mekelle Urban Cluster:
• Mekelle
• Adigrat
• Shire
• Axum
• Dessie- Kombolcha Urban Cluster
• Jima Urban Cluster
• Jima
• Agaro
• Mizan
• Tepi
• Gambella
3. Tertiary urban clusters include:
• Nekemte Urban Cluster: Nekemte, Dembidolo, Gimbi, Metu, Assosa
• Gode - Kebri Dar
• Semera-Mille – Asaita
 Like most developing countries, Ethiopia's urban population is
concentrated in one primate city, Addis Ababa
 Population of Addis Ababa
• 1.4 million in 1984
• 2.2 million in 1994
• 2.7 million in 2007
• Representing about 29% of the urban population of the country
• Current estimated population is over four million
Growth Rate of Urban Centers
 Annual average national growth rate of urban population is about 5.0 %

 varies from town to town and from time to time

 Ethiopia's towns are characterized by:

• Wide range of growth rates
• Classified into three broad categories:
I. Declining Towns

Declining in absolute numbers due to:

• net out migration is greater than natural increase
• lack of employment opportunities
• worsening living conditions

Have at least once experienced a decline include:

• Axum
• Goba
• Maichew
II. Slow Growing Towns

 Composed of towns that grow at the rate which is less than the rate of
natural increase

 Towns of :Holeta

Harar

Gore
III. Fast Growing Towns

 Growth rates greater than the natural rate of increase

 Pull large numbers of people from the declining or slowly growing towns
and rural areas due to the opportunities they offer associated with:
• Expansion n in industries
• Social services
• A change in their administrative status as zonal or
regional capitals
 CHAPTER EIGHT
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA
8.1. INTRODUCTION

Humans beings
• Involved in a number of activities to satisfy their diverse
needs
• These activities known as economic activities

Economic activities

• Highly diversified: from simple to complex

from primitive to advanced

• All are equally important through satisfying peoples needs

Geographers classify a nation's economy into:
• Primary
• Secondary
• Tertiary
• Service sectors
Primary sector
Includes: production of raw material

basic foods

Activities associated with the this sector:

• Agriculture (both subsistence and commercial)
• Mining
• Forestry
• Farming
• Grazing
• Hunting and gathering
• Fishing and quarrying
Secondary sector
Include economy: manufactures finished goods

manufacturing activities

construction
Tertiary sector
 Service industry provides services to: population
businesses
 Activities associated with this sector:
• Retail and wholesale sales
• Transportation and distribution
• Entertainment
• Restaurants
• Clerical services
• Media
• Tourism
• Insurance
• Banking
• Healthcare
• Law
8.2. MINING ACTIVITY IN ETHIOPIA
8.2.1. Introduction
 Minerals

• Naturally occurring:
• Organic substance
• Inorganic substance

• Important natural resources for economy of Ethiopia

• Occurrences are associated with the geologic process

• Mineral deposits in Ethiopia associated with:

• Precambrian (oldest) rocks
• Mesozoic (sedimentary)rocks
Mining
• Search for minerals from the crust of the earth

• Contributes to only 1.5 % of GDP

 Lege-dembi gold mine
• Large scale gold mine in Ethiopia
• Located in the southern greenstone belt region
 Kenticha in the Adola belt
• Tantalite concentrate at present
 Soda ash
• Mined at lake abiyata in the rift valley
• Consumers are: local caustic soda factory
Soap and detergent manufacturers
Kaolin, quartz and feldspar
• Mined from the Adola belt in southern Ethiopia
Silica sand
• utilized by local industries
 Construction minerals
• such as sand, gravel, crushed stones etc.
 Gas fields
• Located in the south-eastern part of the country in the ogaden
basin
 Potash mining has generated in
• Afar regional state
• Dallol depression
 Gold mines are being located
• Afar region
• Konso zone
8.2.2. Status of the mineral sector investment in Ethiopia
 Mining laws of Ethiopia
• Have been issued in 1993
• Provides compulsory criteria to study, submit and get
approval of EIA
• Attract private sector investment
• Issued to:
• Licensing and administration procedures
• Encouraging foreign and local mineral
Mining stakes in Ethiopia are held by:
1.Ethiopian Mineral Development Share Company

2.Ezana Mining Development

3. Midrock Gold
• Operated at shakisso town in southern Ethiopia
• Involved in gold mining

4. National Mining Corporation

• Involved in all aspects of mineral and petroleum
8.2.3. Importance of Mining sector
 Economic benefits
A. Generates revenue from sales, taxes, royalty
B. Employment opportunity

C. Generates foreign currency earnings

 Social Benefits
• Expansion of infrastructures
• Expansion of social services
• Train local communities
• Promote small entrepreneur's engagement
8.2.4. Environmental issues and management related to
mining
 Extraction of minerals disturb the environment

 Must be careful and systemic protection that:

• Assures sustainable use of the current resource
• Less or almost none destruction or pollution of the
environment
 Common environmental issues to be considered
 Surface and ground water system
• Physical land management
• Spillage of strange chemicals
• Aesthetic values
• Other lives surround the mine proximity
8.3. FORESTRY
 Exploiting forest products for:
• Gathering of fuel wood
• Production of timber and charcoal
• Construction of houses
Economic significance of forest
• Little in earning foreign exchange
• Significance at local level is large
• 2.5% contribution for GDP
• Most of the trees cut in Ethiopia today for domestic purposes
like for:
• Fuel wood
• Timber household furniture
• Building and construction
• Sold on the local markets at lower prices

• Still infancy stage for commercial exploitation due to:

• Rapid deforestation
• Low demand for timer
• Lack of modern lumbering technology
• Inaccessibility of natural forest
8.4. FISHERY
8.4.1. Introduction
Fishing
 Primary economic activity
 Involves harvesting of fish resources from water bodies
 One of the oldest human activities
 Still, most widely spread economic activity
 Source of proteins in the diet for much of the world's population
In Ethiopia:
 Due to the presence of a number of lakes, river and reservoirs
• Rich in fish resources
• Great potential for fishing
 No reliable estimate due to lack of exhaustive and systematic
(regular) stock assessment
 More than hundred local fish species made of:
• Tilapia species

• Bargus species
• Clarias species
• Labeo species

Nile Perch
• Found in major riverine fisheries
• Significant quantity is found in chamo and abaya lakes
8.4.2. Fishing Grounds in Ethiopia
 Most fishing activities take place in fresh waters:
• Rivers
• Lakes
• Ponds
 Fresh water bodies are known to have:
• 101 species of fish:
 Four are endemic to the country
 25 are commercial fish species
 Found in the lakes: high promising potential
 Classified as:
• Lake fishery
• River fishery
Lakes fishery
• Account about 79 % fish production

• Most important lakes:

• Tana
• Ziway
• Langano
• Hawassa
• Abaya
• Chamo
River Fishery

• Most rivers have high fish resources

• Confined to local consumption

• Ethiopian rivers has not yet been fully known

• River Baro alone can supply a maximum sustainable yield

 According to Fish Stat data, total production over the last
decade were:
• Tilapine species about… 50 percent
• Catfish about… 22 percent
• Nile Perch about… 9 percent

 Seasonal variations in the availability of d/t types of fish

 But some differences between the lakes

8.4.3. Demand and consumption of fish
 Source of human food has a long history in Ethiopia

 Used for fasting days, in big cities, around production areas and
towns, especially in:
• Hawassa
• Zeway
• Arbaminch

• Bahir Dar
• Addis Ababa

 Domestic market for fish is small

 Factors that affect low level of local fish consumption:
• Not integrated into the diet of most of the population
• Religious influences
• Limited supply of the product and its high price
• Long distance of the fish production sites

 Demand for fish is showing an increasing trend due to

 Rapid growth of population
 Progressive shortage of livestock products
Socio-economic contribution
• Role of fisheries in the national economy
• Providing employment and income opportunity

• Food security
• Increase animal protein consumption
• Achieve food security for the growing population

 Trade
• Ethiopian cross-border fish trade: East African sub-region

 Employment
• Workforce is employed, both directly and indirectly
 Fish meal as animal feed source
• Fishmeal is an excellent source of protein for animals
• Processed and used for animal feed
• High levels of essential amino acids
• A good balance of unsaturated fatty acids
• An increased demand of fishmeal from poultry farmers

 Sport fishing as a recreational value

 Recreational fishing (sport fishing) is common in
southern part of Lake Tana
8.4.4. Constraints and opportunities of the fishing sector
 Like for most of Africa, Ethiopia is riddled with
• Poverty
• Economic stagnation
• Environmentally unsustainable practices

 All these pose serious constraints to fisheries development

 Opportunities :
• Poverty alleviation

• Economic growth
• Better nutrition
• Ecological improvement
 Sources of major pollutants of fisheries:

• Factories
• Agriculture
• Sewage

 Extraction of minerals from Lake Abijata affected by wastes from

• Tannery at Koka reservoir
• Textile industries at Hawassa and Arba minch
 Challenges
• Inadequate legal and policy frameworks
• Overfishing
• Nile perch in lake chamo
• Tilapia in lakes hawassa and ziway
• Inadequately implementation of fishery laws and regulations
• Limited human resource availability/acute shortage of trained
personnel
• Low public and private investment in fishery and aquaculture
• Inadequate infrastructure
 Activity can result to increased fish production
 Improvement in fishing techniques

 Technology transfer to fishers

 Training of fishery management personnel

 Attraction of financial capital to the industry

 Fish value chain improvement

 Aquaculture

 Occasion for the sector escalation:

• Attractive fish prices at local market for better profit

• Presence of diversified fish species and inhabitants

• Traditional knowledge for fisheries

• Good consumption habit

8.5. Agriculture in Ethiopia
8.5.1. Introduction
Agriculture
 Defined as: purposeful tending of animals and plants

 One of man's oldest and important economic activities

 Accounting for more than 15 % of the earth's cultivable land

 About 60% of the world's population gets its livelihood from

agriculture
 It provides:
• Basic food supplies for the population
• Raw materials for industries
• Export crops
• Employment for the population
• In Ethiopia, agriculture is
• Great majority of the population resides
• Backbone of the economy
• Determines the growth of all the other sectors
• A long history of practices in Ethiopian
• still very backward
• Hardly changed in the last 2000 year
• Dominated by small-scale farmers that practice rain-fed mixed farming
by:
• Employing traditional technology
• Adopting a low input
• Low output production system
 Agriculture practiced influenced by:
• Physical/environmental factors
• Soil
• Climate
• Relief
• Socio-economic factors
• Farm size
• Type of land tenure
• Capital availability
• Transport facilities
• Marketing facilities
• Price
• Government polices
8.5.2. Contributions, potentials and characteristics of agriculture in
Ethiopia
Contributions of agriculture in Ethiopia
Agriculture in Ethiopia:
 Ethiopian economy is an agrarian economy
 Backbone of the economy due to:
• Accounts more than 30- 42% of GDP
• Account more than 90 percent of the foreign exchange
earnings
• Provides raw materials for the processing industries
• More than 80% of the Ethiopian population derives
its livelihood directly
Agricultural Resource Base/potentials of Ethiopia
 Ethiopia:
• Abundant agricultural resource base due to its varied agro-
ecological zones
• Varied climatic conditions and contrasts in elevation
• Cultivation of various crops ranging from cool weather crops to
sub-tropical and warm weather crops
• Soil types with varying physical and chemical features
• 16 % of the country's area is suitable for irrigated agriculture
• Vast grazing with a vast 55 – 58 % of its total land area
grazing land
• Extensive livestock population (30 – 35 million livestock)
• Standing first in Africa
• 10th in the world
• Numerous livestock species
Land Use
 Ethiopia
 A total land area of about 113,000,000 hectares
 No comprehensive survey of land use pattern in the country
 But some estimates suggest that about 12.6 million hectares:
• 10.3% of the total area is intensively cultivated
• 15.3 million hectares (12.5%) is moderately cultivated
• High forest and wood land areas account for 6.9%
• Grassland areas for 30.5% of the total area
 Some 27.9 million-hectare of land is already cultivated (intensively and
moderately)
 The possibilities for expanding land under rain-fed agriculture is not very
high
Agricultural Land Use in Ethiopia
Land resource
• More crucial to the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture
• Agriculture is a land-based activity
• Unlike secondary and tertiary activities where contribution of land to its
output is greater
• Lack of access to land is directly correlated with incidence of poverty in rural
areas
• Quality of land has a direct bearing on the productivity of agriculture
• Land ownership has a social value and serves as a security for:
• Credit
• Natural hazards or life contingencies
• Adds to the social status
 Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is:
• Arable land
• Land under permanent crops
• Land under permanent pastures

Arable land
 Includes land under:
• Temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once)
• Temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture
• Land under market or kitchen gardens
• Land temporarily fallow
 Land under permanent crops

• Land cultivated with crops

• Occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each
harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber

• Includes land under:

• Flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines
• But excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber

 Land under permanent pasture

• Land used for five or more years for forage
• Including natural and cultivated crops
 From the land operated by smallholder farmers:
• 77% for temporary and permanent crops
• 11.5% for grazing land
Figure 8.1: % distribution land utilization, main season 2016/17
Cropping seasons in Ethiopia
 Two main crop seasons:
• Belg seasons: receive rainfall from February to June
• Belg crop season: crop harvested between march and august
• Belg harvest: provides 5-10 % of cereal output

• Meher seasons: receive rainfall from June to October

• Meher crop season: crop harvested b/n september and february
• Meher crop harvest: main season produces 90-95 % cereal output
Cropping seasons in Ethiopia
Two main crop seasons:
Crop seasons Receive RF Crop harvested Cereals output

Belg season February to June between march and august 5-10 percent

Meher season June to October between September and February 90-95 percent
Cropping Pattern in Ethiopia
Highlands
• More diversified than the lowlands
• Distinguishable from lowland in pattern of agricultural land use
• Produce a variety of crops due to:
• Improved environmental conditions
• Variety of Agro-ecological zones due to altitudinal variations
 Practice an different system of land preparation and crop
rotation
 Number of crops grown decreases as one moves from the
central highlands to the peripheral lowlands
 Most important crops are cereals such as: Teff
Wheat
Barley
Maize
Sorghum, etc.
Animal Husbandry
• Large livestock population (1st in Africa)
• Very uneven distribution of livestock production in terms of:
• Agro-ecological zones
• Administrative regions
• 75% of the cattle and sheep population are found in the
highland zone
• 70 % of the goat
• 100% of the camel found in the lowlands
• More than 90% of the livestock population is found in:
• Oromia
• Amhara
• SNNPR
 Average number of cattle per household for the less densely
populated Afar region and Somali

 Where livestock are central to the livelihood of the pastoral

population is the highest

 Most of the total value of livestock output (70%) is contributed

by cattle
 Livestock contribute:
• 30-35% to agricultural GDP
• 13-16% to overall GDP
• 13% of agricultural export

 Contribution of hides and skins from the livestock exports is the

highest (more than 95%)

 Despite a large livestock population, its contribution to the

national economy is limited due to:
• Primitive methods of livestock breading
• Cultural attitudes
• Higher mortality rates of livestock due to disease
 Characteristics of Ethiopian Agriculture

 Basic and general characteristics of Ethiopian agriculture:

1. Subsistence Orientation

 In Ethiopia peasants produce:

• Mainly for their own household consumption
• Only a limited proportion is meant for the market
 80% of their produce for home consumption and seeds
• Cultivate different types of crops (10-15)
• Rear different types of livestock to meet their various needs
2. Fragmentation of farm plots and Small size of Holdings
• Land holdings are highly fragmented due to:
• Ever-increasing population
• Terrain irregularities
• Prolonged degradation

• Average number of plots per household ranges mainly from 3-8

• Majority of the farming households possess less than one hectare

of land

• Average land holding dropping to 0.28 ha/household nowadays

3. Low Use of Inputs
• Low use of natural and chemical fertilizers

• Less than 60 % of farmers used commercial, chemical fertilizers

• 10 % used organic fertilizers

• Thus, only a small proportion of the cropland is fertilized

4. Susceptibility to Disasters

• Highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as drought

• Incidence and intensity of disasters has been increasing

• Frequency increase of drought are due to:

• Limited soil conservation measures
• Forest destruction
• Expansion of agriculture into marginal areas

• Natural disasters have usually resulted in famines

5. Limited practice of irrigation and dependence on rain-fed
agriculture
 Vast area of irrigable land but the proportion of cultivated land
is so small due to:
• Physical constraints:
• Steep slopes and deep gorges
• Water logging
• Salinization
• Siltation
• Human constraints:
• Capital
• Technology
• Skilled manpower etc.
 Great dependence on rain-fed agriculture which renders it
highly vulnerable to climatic changes
 Over 98 % farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture
8.5.3. Agriculture Systems in Ethiopia
Agricultural system
 Defined in terms of similar:
• Resource basis
• Enterprise patterns
• Household livelihood and constraint
• Dep’t strategies and interventions
 Ethiopia has diverse climatic and soil types which created an ideal
condition for
• Cultivation of different corps
• Rearing of animals
 Farmers have developed complex:
• Farming systems
• Cropping patterns in response to the diversified physical
environment
 Agricultural systems of Ethiopia can be classified based on:
• Agro-ecological patterns
• Dominant types of crops or animals reared
• Farming methods and tools used for cultivation
• Level of technological input and the disposal of output
 Based on the dominant corps cultivated or animals reared and the
main implements used in cultivation, the following major farming
systems are identified:
1. Highland mixed farming system
2. Lowland mixed farming system
3. Pastoral system
4. Shifting cultivation
5. Commercial agriculture
1. Highland mixed farming system
• Highland areas of over 1500 m.a.s.l
• Characterized by “dega” and “woina dega” agro-ecological
zones
• Farming activity is the integration of crop and livestock
production
• Sub components:
A. Grain-plough complex
 Practiced in the central and northern parts of the country

 Farmers mainly depend on:

• Cereals for subsistence
• Pulses and oil corps for commercial

 Barley and wheat dominate crops in Arsi and Bale

 Teff is the most important crop Shoa and Gojjam

 Harvesting is done using:

• Family labor
• Contributed labor from neighborhoods
 Crop cultivation is mainly based on crop rotation
• plough is the main agricultural implement
• Oxen are principal means of draft power
• Equines provide the means of transport

 Sustainable agriculture is adversely affected by:

• Drought
• Soil degradation

• Practice of removing crop residues for feeding animals

• Using animal dung for fuel
B. The Horticulture-Hoe complex
• Primarily found in the high rainfall humid regions of southern and
southwestern part

• Land is cultivated with hoe (human power) for horticultural crops

• Major crops grown include:

• Enset” (false banana)

• Coffee

• Chat

• Various other horticultural corps: sweet potatoes/sugar beet,

lemon, banana, mango, and avocados

• Maize is the major cereal crop of the region grown

2. Lowland mixed agriculture
 Practiced in the mountain foothills and the lower valleys below 1500
m.a.s.1

 Characterized by: hot and dry conditions (450-800 mm RF)

shallow soils with poor water retention

 Common in the rift valley and northern areas of awash river

 Drought-tolerant varieties of sorghum, maize, wheat, teff, oil corps and

lowland pulses are grown

 Livestock are also raised on common grazing land and crop residues

 Plough is used in the cultivation

 Due to shortage and variability of rainfall, farmers diversify their
cropping patterns by:
• Growing several crop varieties
• Shifting to early maturing crop varieties
• Drought tolerant ones

 Other sources of income include:

• Sale of firewood and charcoal
• Off-farm employment opportunities
3. Pastoral complex
• Practiced in the arid and semiarid lowlands
• Average annual rainfall is less than 500mm
• Practiced by nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of:
• Afar, Somali and borena zone of oromia
• Lowlands of the southern region of southern omo
• Lake turkana area

• Livestock rearing is the main economic activity

• Sparsely populated, dry and vast areas
• Cattle, camels, sheep and goats are important animals
• In some lowlands, crops are produced along flood plains and river banks
• About 90% of the live animals exported come from pastoral areas
4. Shifting cultivation

• Cut-and- burn cultivation system

• Cultivated after clearing until its natural fertility is exhausted

• Practiced by some ethnic groups living in western and south western

fringes of the Ethiopian highlands and lowlands or Benishangul-gumuz,
Gambella and southern regions

• Population density is low and livestock rearing is limited due to tsetse

fly infestation (trypanosomiasis)

 Presently on decline in the country due to:

• Government intervention and settlement (villagization) programs

• Subsequent introduction and sorting the community to sedentary farming

5. Commercial agriculture
 A modern farming practice for market

 Introduced in the 1960s to meet the growing demand for:

• food in the urban areas
• agricultural raw materials for industries

 Mechanized farms were concentrated in the:

• Awash valley
• Arsi
• southern Shoa
• Humera-Metema

 Main problem faced by investors in commercial agriculture is

• Access/shortage of land
• Lack of infrastructure
• conflicts with local inhabitants
8.5.4. Major problems of Ethiopian agriculture
• Characterized by low production and productivity

• Despite the existence of a huge agricultural population, the sector

failed to satisfy the food needs of the growing population

• Major obstacles to the development of this sector include:

 Land degradation
• Because of the rugged topography, exposed to various level of soil erosion
 Variable rainfall

• unreliable rainfall
• Rain sometimes comes early or late
• At other times it falls short of the required number of falls
 Land fragmentation
• Increasing population size of rural area

• Limited total land area

• Declining per-capita landholding

• On the average, small land holding is less than 1 hectare per

household

 Land tenure insecurity

• Land is the collective property of the Ethiopian people and is not subject to
buying and selling deal
 Backward technology
• Smallholder farming is dependence on traditional tools and
farming practices:
• Land preparing is done by oxen drown plough
• Planting is performed by manual broadcasting

• Weeding and harvesting are performed manually

• Threshing is carried out by animals trampling the harvested crop
• Agricultural produce in transported by primitive means like pack animals and
human percentage

• Low application of modern inputs fertilizer pesticides, and improved seeds)

poor animal breeds etc.
 Poor rural infrastructure
• Transport and communication systems area poorly developed
• Agricultural output carried long distance by traditional
transport means
• poor infrastructure has severely hampered socioeconomic
development
 Other problems that constrain Ethiopian agriculture include:
• Overgrazing

• Nutrition stress
• Diminished grazing land area
• Widespread prevalence of different diseases and parasites
• Poor genetic structure and lower productivity in terms of growth, yield and
reproduction
• Weak agricultural research and extension
• Capital constraints of peasants required for investment in their farms
8.6. Manufacturing Industry in Ethiopia
8.6.1. Introduction
 Industrial development in Ethiopia

• Extremely backward
• Its backwardness an indication of the low-level development of
the Ethiopian economy

• Contribution to GDP is only 11.7 percent

• Its contribution to GDP comes from agriculture and service sector

• Modern world development is likened with industrialization

Manufacturing
• A process of changing commodities to consumable forms

• An addition of value

• A higher-level economic activity

• Value of commodities is more after the undergone manufacturing

Employment in Industries
• A continually increasing trend in the number of employees

• Yet, no clear pattern to the availability of jobs

• Textiles and garments increased but then declined

 Employment distribution of the different firm size within the

manufacturing sector in 2007/08 indicated that:
• Micro enterprises employ 138,951 (51%)
• Small enterprises employ 10,960 (3.9%)

• Medium enterprises employ 14, 757 (5.4%)

• Large enterprises employ 108,226 (39.7%)
Figure 8.2: Number of persons employed by major
industrial Group-Public and private (2011/12-2015/16)
 Value of industrial production

• About 4% of the value addition to the entire economy

• Largest value addition came from:

• Food and beverage subsector( 8 billion birr)
• Non-metallic mineral subsector (4.3 billion birr)
• Metal and engineering subsector (3.9 billion birr)
• Textile and apparel industry (396 million birr)

 Ethiopian large and medium size manufacturing sector is

dominated by food and beverages

 It accounted for the largest proportion of the overall large and

medium manufacturing value
8.6.2. Types and characteristics of manufacturing
 Types of Manufacturing Industries

 Two types
• Traditional or cottage industries
• Modern manufacturing industries
1. The Cottage (traditional)industries
 A long-standing place in Ethiopian history
 Kinds industries known for a long time are
• Weaving
• Woodcarving
• Pottery
• Metal works
• Basketry etc.
 Remain static, throughout their long period of existence
 Major factor is negative traditional attitudes such as:
• Low social cast activities
• People engaged as “Buda" “Faki" etc.
 Other factors is limited availability of the factors of
industrialization such as:
• Minerals
• Market
• Agricultural raw materials
• Sources of power
2. Manufacturing Industries
• Measure of the development stage of countries

• A low level of development in Ethiopia

• Most of them are light industries i.e. industries that process

consumer goods like textiles, food, tobacco etc.

• Heavy industries are very small

• Contribution to GDP not only remained low

• But contracted slightly from about 6% of GDP to about 4%

• The sector is not expanding as expected

 The existing industrial establishments in Ethiopia are:
• Few in number
• Most of them lack capital
• Low productive
• Low job creation capacity

 Besides, most of the industries rely on agriculture raw material

for production
8.6.3. The Spatial Distribution of Manufacturing Industries in
Ethiopia
 Historically, concentrated in a few large towns
 The top ten towns accounted for about:
• 85 %of the total number of establishments
• 79 % employment
 Addis Ababa alone accounted for about:
• 67 %of the total number of establishments
• 60 % employment
 New industrial towns such as:
• Burayu
• Sululta
• Sebeta
• Mojo
• Ambo
 Top ten towns of substantial number of industrial
establishments:
• Hawassa in the south
• Dire Dawa in the east
• Mekelle in the north
• Bahr Dar in the northwest

 The gap b/n the first and the next top-ranking towns is very large

 First top town industrial concentration…Addis Ababa

 Second largest industrial concentration town…Hawassa

 Current spatial distribution of industries similar trends where
concentrate in specific regions

 Manufacturing industries were located in:

• Addis Ababa followed- 37 %
• Oromia-27 %
• Tigray -14 %

 Why industries concentrate in and around specific towns and

regions in the country:
• Availability of infra-structural facilities
• Political decisions
 Industrial parks/zones in Ethiopia
 Top priority manufacturing industries in the latest five-year
development plan (2015 to 2020) are:
• Agro-processing industries
• Leather products
• Textile and apparel sectors
 Main reasons for giving priority for these industries include:
• Strong linkages with the agricultural sector
• Both are labour intensive
• Major export potential and low entry barriers
 Three mechanisms are in place for the establishment of
Industrial Parks (IPs):
A. Fully developed by the federal or regional government
B. Developed by PPPs with the IPDC
C. Private developers only
 Industrial parks in Ethiopia can also be categorized based on
their focus sector:
• Textile and garment
• Leather and shoes
• Agro-processing
• Pharmaceutical and IT park
 Contributions of Industrial Parks in Ethiopia
• Stimulating investment and creating employment

• Facilitating export growth and foreign exchange earnings

• Developing industrial clusters through forward/backward linkages
• Stimulating knowledge transfer and technology spill over
• Establishing connections to global value chain
• Fostering Sustainable Growth and social equality
• Enforcing implementation of national industrialization strategy
 The Sugar Sector Mega Projects in Ethiopia

 Sugar Industry

 Contribute greatly for the industrial transformation

 Seek more attention and a coordinated effort due to:

• Huge labor and resources
• Suitable/favorable climate
• Ideal landscape/irrigable land suitable..500 thousand hectares
• Untapped water resource

 Two old sugar factories (Wonji and Metehara) have limited

capacity to meet domestic demand
 Growth and Transformation Program (GTP I)

• Targets to expand the sugar sector

• To make Ethiopia as one of the top ten sugar exporters in the

world

• To construction of ten large sugar plantations and factories like:

• Omo-Kuraz Sugar Factory II
• Kessem
• Arjo Dediessa
• Tendaho
• Finchaa
• Metehara
• Wolqayet Sugar development project
• Tana-belese Sugar Factory II etc.
• However, work on the construction of the major sugar factories
is delayed and yet to be completed
8.6.4. Industrial development in Ethiopia: Challenges and
Opportunities
 Adopted different policies for the development of industry
 Industrial policies have distinctive features on:
• Guiding vision (policy)
• Ownership structure
• Market orientation
 Broadly, they can be characterized as:
• Import substitution and private sector-led (from1950s to 1974)
• Import substitution and state-led (from 1974 to 1991)
• Export-orientated and private sector-led from 1991
 Challenges of the Manufacturing Sector
• Lowest even by African standard
• Various constraints, but potential for industrial development is
huge
8.7. The Service Sector in Ethiopia
8.7.1. Introduction
 Tertiary economic activity
• Involves:
• Distribution goods
• Provision of goods
• Rendering services
 Includes:
• Security services
• Transportation
• Information and telecommunication services
• Tourism
• Health services
• Education institutions and research centers
 Three of the service activities in Ethiopia:
• Transportation and communication
• Trade
• Tourism
8.7.2. Transportation and communication in Ethiopia: types, roles
and characteristics
8.7.2.1. Transportation
 Definition
• physically carried from one location to another
• Fundamental to civilization
• Lifeline or the blood vessel of an economy

 Role
• Division of labor and labor specialization
• Gaining of raw materials from various sources
• Dispatch of goods to market places
• Personal mobility etc
 Types

 Five different types

 A. Traditional Transport
• Use of pack animals
• Contribution to the national economy is not known in
statistical terms
• In rural Ethiopia, it make immense contributions
• Even in urban areas like Addis Ababa, modern means of
transport has not totally done away with the traditional means
B. Road Transport
• Used by most passengers and goods today
• Relatively a recent phenomenon
• Basically, started during Italians period of occupation
• Essentially built for military movement purposes, not built for
the purpose of economic integration
1. Road Network.. increased rapidly
• Increasing trend, the progress so far is still far below the need compared to the
large land area and population of the country
• Least accessible in sub-sahara Africa

II. Road Density

• Road construction is difficult and expensive due to rugged
terrain
• Serves a small area

III. Road accessibility

C. Railway
• Helps to transport bulky products

• Was backward, a single lane track

 Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway

• Recently a new railway line
• 750 km length
• Officially inaugurated in Djibouti in 2018
• A new standard gauge international railway
• Serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway
Network
• Provides Ethiopia with access to the sea, linking Addis Ababa with
Djibouti and its Port of Doraleh
• More than 95% of Ethiopia's trade passes through Djibouti,
accounting for 70% of the activity at the Port of Djibouti
 Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit
• The first light rail and rapid transit in eastern and sub-
Saharan Africa
• 31.6 kilometers length with 39 stations
• Constructed by china railway engineering corporation
limited (CREC)
• Currently operated by Chinese firm Shenzhen metro
group company
• Currently transports about 60,000 people daily
• Significantly reducing traffic congestion in the capital,
Addis Ababa
D. Waterways

 Two types:
• Seaways
• Inland waterways

 Seaways
• Open areas
• 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
 Inland waterways

• Classified in to two:
• Rivers
• Lakes

• Due to nature of the topography exception of Baro and Omo,

Ethiopian rivers cannot be used for transportation

• In lake Tana and Abaya---small-scale transportation

• Contribution to the Ethiopian economy is very small

E. Airways
• Fairly recent in appearance
• Modern in its constitution
• Fastest means of transportation
• Reduced distances by minimizing the travel time
• Very essential for a county, where the topography is difficult for
communication
• No problem of laying the track for airways
• Its problems are: expensive
can’t be used for transporting bulky products
 Ethiopian Air Lines
• Serve some forty-five cities and towns in the country
• Gives impressive international service
8.7.2.2. Communications
 Process of conveying messages to others
 Plays a vital role to:
• Accelerate the pace of development
• Enhance closer social integration
• Promote the basic aim of economic activities

 Commonly used in Ethiopia include:

• Radio
• Television
• Internet
• Satellite
• Print publications
• Fixed and mobile telephones
• Post offices
Contribution of Transportation and communication
• Contribution to a country's development is high
• Share to the GDP of a country is undeniable
• Contribution varies from country to country
• Contribute for:
• Creates job opportunity
• Promotes investment sector
• National and international trade
• Source of income generation
• Maintaining a country's peace, political wellbeing and
stability
• Linking rural areas and rural products
• Development of tourism, entertainment, sports and
peaceful relationship among people
• Some negative aspects of it--energy consumption is high
8.7.3. Trade in Ethiopia
• Process of exchange of products

• Depends on the development of production activities

• Two types of trade:

 Internal trade
• Exchange of goods and services within the country
• Done between regions or within a region

 External Trade
• Exchange conducted between countries
• Concerned with import-export trade
Foreign Trade
 Necessary due to earth's resources are not equally distributed across
its surface

 Different countries have different factor endowments

 Some countries are:

• Rich in capital resources
• Others are rich in labor resources
• Still others are rich in natural resources
Structure of Commodity Export of Ethiopia
• As Ethiopian economy is an agrarian economy, its merchandise
(visible) export is determined by agricultural products

• Export structure of Ethiopia has been characterized by greater

concentration of few traditional exports such as:
• Coffee
• Oil seeds and pulses
• Chat
 Coffee:
• Dominates the total merchandise export item
• Accounts for 29.5% of visible export earnings

 Oilseeds:
 Accounting for 14.9 % of export earnings
 Take the second position followed by pulses 9.5 %, and chat
9.5 %
 The Geographic Structure of Exports

 Major export destinations for Ethiopian goods show that:

• Asia accounted for 39.8 % of Ethiopia's export earnings
• Europe accounted for 28.7%
• Markets in Africa accounted for 20.9 %
 Five countries important for Ethiopia's export that account for
39% are
• China
• USA
• Netherlands
• Saudi Arabia
• Djibouti
 With regard to imports of goods, during 2017/18:
• Asia accounted for 64.2 % of the total imports
• Europe accounted for 19.3 %
• U.S.A accounted for 9.4 %
 About 51% of Ethiopian's merchandise import originated from
• China
• U.S.A
• Japan
• Italy
• USA
8.7.4. Tourism in Ethiopia: Types, major tourist attraction sites,
challenges and prospects
 Tourism
• Activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment
• Largest and most important industries in the world in terms
of:
• Employment creation
• Generation of foreign revenue
• Contributing to social, cultural, and economic development
aspects
• Still unsatisfactory, but international tourist arrivals in a
considerable growth
• Contributions to GDP and export earnings are growing in
recent years
 Types of Tourism Ethiopia is gifted with
• Unique landscape
• Paleontological
• Archaeological
• Historical
• Living cultural tourism attractions
 Common tourism forms:
• Living culture tourism
• History tourism
• Archaeology tourism
• Paleontology tourism
• Park tourism
• Geo-tourism
• Agro-biodiversity and coffee tourism,
• Rural tourism, conference tourism
• Sport tourism
Major Tourist attraction sites of Ethiopia

 Historic Attraction sites

1. Obelisk of Axum

2. Churches of Lalibela

3. Castles of Gondar
• Seat of government following Axum and Lalibela

4. Walls of Harar
• Harar is considered as the 4th holy city of Islam
Natural Attraction sites
I. Blue Nile Falls
• Locally known as tississat, meaning 'water that smokes'
presents a spectacular water fall
• Inhabited with fascinating wild lives and birds

II. Simien Mountains

• Home of Ethiopia's highest peak Ras Dashen
• Endemic Walia ibex and the Gelada baboon are also found
III. Rift Valley Lakes

 Comprises famous natural parks such as

• Abijatta-shalla
• Nechisar
• Mago and omo national parks

 Each national park presents a unique feature for

• Bird-watching
• Trekking
• Wild life scenery

IV. National Parks

• Due to diverse geographic settings and rich natural resources, a number of
National Parks
 Role of Tourism in the Economy of Ethiopia
• Direct export earnings generated by tourism are increasing
• Third source of export revenue after agriculture and industry
• Direct contribution to the country's GDP
• Important source of employment accounting for 2.4% of
total employment
 Challenges of the sector to be addressed

• Major challenges of the sector:

• Weak institutional framework
• Weak implementation capacity, skilled human resources and financing

• Very limited accommodating capacity

• Lack of basic and IT infrastructure
• Narrow product range
• Weak private sector associations
• Unplanned destination development
• Poor visitor management

• Poor tourism statistics

 I humbly
thank you...!
07 /08 / 2014 E.C