Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. For more than a decade before 2016, the GDP grew at a rate between 8 percent and 11 percent annually – one of the fastest growing states among the 188 IMF member countries. This growth, which has been driven by the government’s investment in infrastructure, as well as sustained progress in the agricultural and service sectors, is expected to keep rising in the years to come. Ethiopia’s annual GDP growth averaged 10.9 percent. The country’s GDP is US$92.154 billion, while the GDP per capita is US$2,300. The GDP composition is 34.8 percent for agriculture, 21.6 percent for industry, and 43.6 percent for services. Foreign exchange earnings are led by the services sector and by the export of several commodities.
While coffee remains the largest foreign exchange earner, Ethiopia is diversifying exports, and commodities such as gold, sesame, livestock, and horticulture products are becoming increasingly important for the growing economy. Manufacturing represented less than eight percent of total exports in 2016, but manufacturing exports are expected to increase in future years due to an international presence that is considerably growing in Ethiopia. The East African nation recently attracted US$8.5 billion in foreign direct investment. Investment in the country has been primarily in infrastructure, construction, and agriculture. In the fall of 2015, the Ethiopian government finalized and published the 2016-20 five-year plan, known as the Growth and Transformation Plan II, which emphasizes developing manufacturing in sectors where Ethiopia has a comparative advantage, such as textiles and garments, leather goods, and processed agricultural products. Saba IP