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Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the world. With an annual per capita income of 220 US dollars (2007), it is extremely poor, even by African standards. The country’s development is being held back by droughts, the legacy of the war against Eritrea, inadequate opening of the political system and strong population growth. In Ethiopia, Germany is supporting programmes to improve the food situation, strengthen local self-government and decentralisation, and foster economic development.
Ethiopia is one of the world’s oldest advanced civilisations. Except for its occupation by fascist Italy between 1936 and 1941, Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to have been a colony. When the Suez Canal was built in the 19th century, the region became strategically important, but even then Ethiopia was able to remain independent. The country was a monarchy until 1974, and subsequently a communist military dictatorship. Until the 1990s, Ethiopia was more or less cut off from the western international community. Today the country is a federal democratic republic and plays a key role in ensuring stability in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia’s landscape is shaped by the East African Rift Valley, which makes for a very diverse climate and vegetation. The different regions of the country are at different altitudes, enjoying widely differing rainfall and soil fertility. "Woina Dega", the area with the greatest population concentration, lies between 1,600 and 2,500 metres above sea level and has a temperate climate. Grain, cotton and the famous Ethiopian coffee are grown there. Germany has a tradition as the best customer for Ethiopian coffee – more than 30 per cent of exports end up in German coffee cups. Agriculture has developed well in recent years.
Yet parts of the country are repeatedly hit by terrible famines. Food shortages are particularly severe in the north-east and the south-east of the country. It is estimated that more than seven million people are permanently in need of outside assistance, with a further six million being forced to seek aid because of the drought in 2008. In 2008, the German Development Ministry provided a total of 13.15 million euros to fight hunger in Ethiopia.
German Embassy
German Embassy in
Addis Abbeba
P.O. Box 660
Addis Abbeba
Ethiopia
Phone: +251 / 11 / 1 23 51 39
Fax: +251 / 11 / 1 23 51 52
