Compiled By:

1. Dr. Teferi Mekonnen, Addis Ababa University

2. Mr. Nigatu Gebremedhin, Wolkite University
3. Dr. Alem-meta Assefa, Wollo University
4. Dr. Binyam Moreda, Hawassa University

September, 2019
 PREFACE
The course Geography of Ethiopia had been offered to all freshman students of Ethiopian
Universities until 2005. However, it was interrupted with the curricula revision that ended up
making the duration of study for a University degree for most disciplines to be three years. This
trend continued for more than a decade and a half. In response to the changing national and
global dynamism, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) had conducted
assessment for a curriculum revision. The assessment included gathering evidence from
international experiences and domestic practices in proposing courses for the freshman
program. The results of the assessment revealed that the Ethiopian Education curriculum had
not properly addressed national unity among graduates, critical thinking, important non-
cognitive skills, employability skills, communication skills, global outlook, and digital literacy to
cite few. One of the recommendations of the curriculum revision team was that the curricula
/program need to have components that highlight the necessities of Ethiopian Geography,
society, cultures as well as the dynamic interrelationship of people and natural environments
over time. As a result, to fill the existing gaps, common courses such as the Geography of
Ethiopia and the Horn and others were identified to be offered for all first year students of
higher education institutions.

The Geography of Ethiopia and the Horn is, therefore, intended to familiarize students with the
basic geographic concepts particularly in relation to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It is also
meant to provide students a sense of place and time (geographic literacy) that are pivotal in
producing knowledgeable and competent citizens who are able to comprehend and analyze
spatial problems and contribute to their solutions. To be geographically illiterate is to deny
oneself not only the ability to comprehend spatial problems but also the opportunity to contribute
meaningfully to the development of policies for dealing with them. As such, the course provides
an opportunity for the reader to understand the implications of the location, shape and size of
Ethiopia, as well as the country’s physical and human resources diversity and abundance on its
socioeconomic development.

The course consists of four parts. The first part provides a brief description on the location,
shape and size of Ethiopia as well as basic skills of reading maps. Part two introduces the
physical background and natural resource endowment of Ethiopia and the Horn which includes
its geology and mineral resources, topography, climate, drainage and water resources, soil,

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fauna and flora. The third part of the course focuses on the demographic characteristics of the
country and its implications on economic development. The fourth component of the course
offers treatment of the various economic activities of Ethiopia and the Horn which include
agriculture, manufacturing and the service sectors. Moreover, Ethiopia in a globalizing world is
treated in the perspectives of the pros and cons of globalization on its natural resources,
population and socio-economic conditions.

This teaching material is compiled to meet the urgent needs of freshman students of Ethiopian
Universities, who take the course “Geography of Ethiopia and the Horn (GeES 101)”. It is our
fervent belief that the material could also be an important reference for the course instructors as
well. Nonetheless, readers of this material are requested to be considerate of the urgency of the
material preparation, paucity of data for the very dynamic geography components, as well as the
problems of changing boundaries and sizes of the spatial units. At times, reference was made to
former administrative units. To the level best possible, however, attempt was made to include the
most recent data on the diverse geographic attributes to produce a viable document. We would
also like to acknowledge that much more remains to be done in terms of editing and using the
most up-to-date data.

The writes are grateful to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies of Addis
Ababa University for providing the basic reference that was substantially used in the write-up of
this material. We would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for bringing
back the Geography of Ethiopia as a freshman course with the intention of nurturing citizens
who are zealous and enthusiastic to their country’s natural and cultural geographic
endowments; and for facilitating the development of the material.

Dr. Teferi Mekonnen, Addis Ababa University

Mr. Nigatu Gebremedhin, Wolkite University
Dr. Alem-meta Assefa, Wollo University
Dr. Binyam Moreda, Hawassa University
September, 2019

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 Table of Contents
PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Geography: Definition, Scope and Themes ......................................................................... 1
1.1.1. Meaning of Geography ................................................................................................. 1
1.1.2. The Scope, Approaches and Themes of Geography ..................................................... 2
1.2. Location, Shape and Size of Ethiopia and the Horn ............................................................ 3
1.2.1. Location of Ethiopia ..................................................................................................... 4
1.2.2. Size of Ethiopia ............................................................................................................. 6
1.2.3. The shape of Ethiopia and its Implication .................................................................... 6
1.3. Basic Skills of Map Reading................................................................................................ 8
1.3.1. Basic Principles of Map Reading.................................................................................. 9
CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 12
THE GEOLOGY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN .................................................................. 12
2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 12
2.2. Origin of the Universe: The Big Bang Theory .................................................................. 12
2.3. The Theory of Continental Drift ........................................................................................ 13
2.4. The Geologic Processes: Endogenic and Exogenic Forces ............................................... 14
2.5. The Geological Time Scale and Age Dating Techniques .................................................. 14
2.5.1. Age Dating Techniques............................................................................................... 16
2.6. Geological Processes and the Resulting Landforms of Ethiopia and the Horn ................. 17
2.6.1. The Precambrian Era Geologic Processes (4.5 billion - 600 million years ago) ........ 17
2.6.2. The Paleozoic Era Geologic Processes (600million - 225 million years ago) ............ 18
2.6.3. The Mesozoic Era Geologic Processes (225-70 million years ago) ........................... 18
2.6.4. The Cenozoic Era Geologic Processes (70million years ago - Present) ..................... 20
2.7. Rock and Mineral Resources of Ethiopia .......................................................................... 24
2.7.1. Brief Facts and Current State of Main Minerals in Ethiopia ...................................... 24
2.7.2. Mineral Potential Sites of Ethiopia ............................................................................. 27
CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 28
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN........................................................... 28
3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 28

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 3.2. The Physiographic Divisions of Ethiopia .......................................................................... 30
3.2.1. The Western Highlands and Lowlands ....................................................................... 30
3.2.2. The Southeastern Highlands and Lowlands ................................................................ 34
3.2.3. The Rift Valley ........................................................................................................... 35
3.3. The Impacts of Relief on Biophysical and Socioeconomic Conditions ............................ 38
CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 40
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS AND WATER RESOURCE OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN........ 40
4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 40
4.2. Major Drainage System of Ethiopia .................................................................................. 40
4.3. Water Resources: Rivers, Lakes and Sub-Surface Water .................................................. 44
4.3.1. The Ethiopian Rivers .................................................................................................. 44
4.3.2. The Ethiopian Lakes ................................................................................................... 45
4.3.3. Subsurface (Ground) Water Resource of Ethiopia ..................................................... 47
4.4. Water Resources Potentials and Development in Ethiopia................................................ 47
CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 50
THE CLIMATE OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN.................................................................... 50
5.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 50
5.2. Elements and Controls of Weather and Climate ................................................................ 51
5.2.1. Controls of Weather and Climate ............................................................................... 51
5.3. Spatiotemporal Patterns and Distribution of Temperature and Rainfall in Ethiopia ......... 55
5.3.1. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Temperature .................................................................. 55
5.5. Climate Change/Global Warming: Causes, Consequences and Response Mechanisms ... 62
5.5.1. Current Trends of Climate in Ethiopia........................................................................ 62
5.5.2. Causes of Climate Change .......................................................................................... 64
5.5.3. Consequences of Climate Change .............................................................................. 65
5.5.4. Climate Response Mechanisms .................................................................................. 66
CHAPTER SIX ............................................................................................................................. 68
SOILS, NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES OF ETHIOPIA AND
THE HORN .................................................................................................................................. 68
6.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 68
6.2. Ethiopian Soils: Types, Degradation and Conservation .................................................... 68
6.2.2. Major Soil Types in Ethiopia ...................................................................................... 70

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 6.2.2. Soil Degradation ......................................................................................................... 73
6.2.4. Soil Erosion Control Measures ................................................................................... 74
6.3. Natural Vegetation of Ethiopia .......................................................................................... 75
6.3.3. Natural vegetation Degradation .................................................................................. 78
6.3.2. Natural Vegetation Conservation................................................................................ 79
6.4. Wild Life/wild animals in Ethiopia.................................................................................... 79
6.4.2. Wildlife Conservation ................................................................................................. 80
6.4.3. Challenges of wildlife conservation in Ethiopia ......................................................... 82
CHAPTER SEVEN ...................................................................................................................... 84
POPULATION OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN ..................................................................... 84
7.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 84
7.2. Population Data: Uses and Sources ................................................................................... 85
7.3. Population Dynamics: Fertility, Mortality and Migration ................................................. 87
7.3.1. Demographic Measurements ...................................................................................... 88
7.3.2. Levels and trends in Fertility and Mortality rates in Ethiopia .................................... 89
7.3.3. Migration in Ethiopia and the Horn ............................................................................ 92
7.5. Population Distribution in Ethiopia ................................................................................... 99
7.5.1. Measures of Population Distribution ........................................................................ 100
7.5.2. Factors Affecting Population Distribution in Ethiopia ................................................. 102
7.6. Socio-cultural Aspects of Ethiopian Population: Education, Health and Languages ...... 105
7.6.1. Education .................................................................................................................. 105
7.6.2. Health ............................................................................................................................ 106
7.6.3. Languages Families and Languages of Ethiopia ...................................................... 107
7.7. Settlement Types and Patterns ......................................................................................... 109
7.7.1. Types of Settlement ...................................................................................................... 109
CHAPTER EIGHT ..................................................................................................................... 116
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA................................................................................ 116
8.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 116
8.2. Mining Activity in Ethiopia ......................................................................................... 117
8.3. Forestry ........................................................................................................................ 121
8.4. Fishery.......................................................................................................................... 122
8.5. Agriculture in Ethiopia .................................................................................................... 127

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 8.5.2. Contributions, potentials and characteristics of agriculture in Ethiopia ................... 128
8.5.3. Agriculture Systems in Ethiopia ............................................................................... 135
8.5.4. Major problems of Ethiopian agriculture .................................................................. 139
8.6. Manufacturing Industry in Ethiopia................................................................................. 140
8.6.2. Types and characteristics of manufacturing ............................................................. 142
8.6.3. The Spatial Distribution of Manufacturing Industries in Ethiopia ............................ 143
8.7. The Service Sector in Ethiopia ........................................................................................ 149
8.7.2. Transportation and communication in Ethiopia: types, roles and characteristics ..... 149
8.7.4. Tourism in Ethiopia: Types, major tourist attraction sites, challenges and prospects
............................................................................................................................................. 156
References ................................................................................................................................... 160

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Geography: Definition, Scope and Themes

This chapter deals with the meaning, scope, themes, and approaches of Geography. In addition, it
discusses the location, shape, and size of Ethiopia and the Horn. It also introduces the tenets of
basic map reading skills. Hence, this introductory part of the text paves the way for an
understanding of the geographic issues presented in the succeeding chapters.

Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the learners will be able to:
 Comprehend the meaning and scope of Geography.
 Explain the themes of Geography.
 Explicate the implications of location, shape and size of Ethiopia and the Horn on the
physical environment, socioeconomic and political aspects.
 Acquire basic skills of map reading.

1.1.1. Meaning of Geography

Activity 1.1
1. Define Geography.
2. Could you mention the major themes of Geography?
3. Do you know where the Horn of Africa is located? What are the member states of the Horn of
Africa?
4. Distinguish between astronomical and relative locations?

It is difficult to forward a definition acceptable to all geographers at all times and places
because of the dynamic nature of the discipline and the changes in its scope and method of
study. However, the following may be accepted as a working definition.
Geography is the scientific study of the Earth that describes and analyses spatial and
temporal variations of physical, biological and human phenomena, and their
interrelationships and dynamism over the surface of the Earth.

1
1.1.2. The Scope, Approaches and Themes of Geography

Geography has now acquired the status of science that explains the arrangements of various
natural and cultural features on the Earth surface. Geography is a holistic and interdisciplinary
field of study contributing to the understanding of the changing spatial structures from the past to
the future. Thus, the scope of Geography is the surface of the Earth, which is the very thin zone
that is the interface of the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, which provides
the habitable zone in which humans are able to live.

Geography can be approached by considering two continuums: a human-physical continuum and

a topical regional continuum. The topical (systematic) fields of Geography view particular
categories of physical or human phenomena as distributed over the Earth while regional
geography is concerned with the associations within regions of all or some of the elements and
their interrelationships.

Geography has five basic themes namely location, place, human-environment interaction,
movement, and region.

Location

Location is defined as a particular place or position. Most studies of geography begin with the
mention of this theme of geography. Location can be of two types: absolute location and relative
location. In the former case, the location of a place is defined by its latitude and longitude or its
exact address.

Place

Place refers to the physical and human aspects of a location. This theme of geography is
associated with toponym (the name of a place), site (the description of the features of the place),
and situation (the environmental conditions of the place). Each place in the world has its unique
characteristics expressed in terms of landforms, hydrology, biogeography, pedology,
characteristics and size of its human population, and the distinct human cultures. The concept of
“place” aids geographers to compare and contrast two places on Earth.

Human-Environment Interaction

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Humans have always been on ceaseless interaction with their natural environment. No other
species that has lived on our planet has a profound effect on the environment as humans.
Humans have adapted to the environment in ways that have allowed them to dominate all other
species on Earth. Thus, human-environment interaction involves three distinct aspects,
dependency, adaptation, and modification. Dependency refers to the ways in which humans are
dependent on nature for a living. Adaptation relates to how humans modify themselves, their
lifestyles and their behavior to live in a new environment with new challenges. Modification
allowed humans to “conquer” the world for their comfortable living.

Movement

Movement entails to the translocation of human beings, their goods, and their ideas from one end
of the planet to another. The physical movement of people allowed the human race to inhabit all
the continents and islands of the world. Another aspect of movement is the transport of goods
from one place on the Earth to another. The third dimension of movement is the flow of ideas
that allows the unification of the human civilization and promotes its growth and prosperity.
Region

A region is a geographic area having distinctive characteristics that distinguishes itself from
adjacent unit(s) of space. It could be a formal region that is characterized by homogeneity in
terms of a certain phenomenon (soil, temperature, rainfall, or other cultural elements like
language, religion, and economy). It can also be a functional or nodal region characterized by
functional interrelationships in a spatial system defined by the linkages binding particular
phenomena.

1.2. Location, Shape and Size of Ethiopia and the Horn

The Horn of Africa, a region of eastern Africa, is a narrow tip that protrudes into the northern
Indian Ocean, separating it from the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost extension of African land
defined as the region that is home to the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia,
whose cultures have been linked throughout their long history. Although the countries of the
region share many common features, there is also great diversity among them, rendering each
country unique in many respects. In terms of size, Ethiopia is the largest of all the Horn of
African countries, while Djibouti is the smallest.

3
The Horn contains such diverse areas as the highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau, the Ogaden
desert, and the Eritrean and Somali coasts. Its coasts are washed by the Red Sea, the Gulf of
Aden, and the Indian Ocean, and it has long been in contact with the Arabian Peninsula and
southwestern Asia.

1.2.1. Location of Ethiopia

The location of a country or a place on a map or a globe is expressed in two different ways.
These are astronomical and relative locations (Figure 1.1).

Astronomical location, also known as absolute or mathematical location, states location of places
using the lines of latitudes and longitudes. Astronomically, Ethiopia is a landlocked country
located between 3oN (Moyale) and 15oN (Bademe - the northernmost tip of Tigray) latitudes and
33oE (Akobo) to 48oE (the tip of Ogaden in the east) longitudes. The east west distance (150) is
longer than the north-south distance (120). The latitudinal and longitudinal extensions are
important in two ways. First, as a result of its latitudinal extension the country experiences
tropical climate and secondly due to its longitudinal extension there is a difference of one hour
between the most easterly and most westerly points of the country. It is only for convenience that
the 3 hours-time zone is used in all parts of the country.

Relative location expresses the location of countries or places with reference to the location
of other countries (vicinal), landmasses or water bodies. The relative location of Ethiopia is
indicated in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1: The relative location of Ethiopia

Vicinal location In relation to water bodies & land masses

 Sudan to the west and northwest  In the Horn of Africa
 South Sudan to southwest  Southwest of the Arabian Peninsula
 Djibouti to the east  South of Europe
 Somalia to the east and  Northwest of the Indian Ocean
southeast  In the Nile Basin
 Eritrea to the north and
northeast
 Kenya to the south

4
The implications of the location of Ethiopia are described as follows:
a) Climate: The fact that Ethiopia is located between 30N and 150N (between the Equator
and Tropic of Cancer) implies that the country has a tropical climate, though modified by
its altitude. The location of Ethiopia relative to the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and
the African and Asian landmass has also various bearings on the climate of Ethiopia.
b) Socio-cultural: Ethiopia is one of the earliest recipients of the major world religions
namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism due to its proximity to the Middle East, which
was the origin of these religions. The linguistic and other cultural relationships, which
Ethiopia shares with its neighbours, reflect the influence of location.
c) Political: The political history of Ethiopia has been considerably influenced by:
 Geopolitical considerations of superpowers.
 Adjacency to the Red Sea (a major global trade route).
 The Middle East geopolitical paradigms.
As a result, Ethiopia has been exposed for external invasions in a number of times; though the
country resisted foreign intervention and remains free of external domination.

Figure 1.1.Ethiopia’s location in relation to its neighboring countries

Source: Africa Map Library

5
1.2.2. Size of Ethiopia

Ethiopia with a total area of approximately 1,106,000 square kilometers is the 8th largest country
in Africa and 25th in the World. It extends about 1,639 kilometers East-West, and 1,577
kilometers North-South. About 0.7% of the country is covered by water bodies.
The size of Ethiopia also affects both the natural and human environment of the country. The
advantages and disadvantages of the size of Ethiopia are indicated in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Advantages and disadvantages of Ethiopia’s large size

Advantages Disadvantages
Possess diverse agro ecological zones Demands greater capital to construct infrastructural
facilities
Variety of natural resources Requires large army to protect its territory
Own extensive arable land Difficult for effective administration
Have larger population size Difficult for socio-economic integration
Home for diverse cultures
Greater depth in defense external
invasion

1.2.3. The shape of Ethiopia and its Implication

Countries of the World have different kinds of shape that can be divided into five main
categories: compact, fragmented, elongated, perforated, and protruded. These shapes have
implications on defense, administration and economic integration within a country. Whether
some kind of shape is advantageous to a country or not, however, depends on many other factors.

 Compact shape countries: The distance from the geographic centre of the state to any of
the borders does not vary greatly. It is easier for defence, socioeconomic and cultural
integration.
 Fragmented shape countries: They are divided from their other parts by either water,
land or other countries.
 Elongated shape countries: They are geographically long and relatively narrow like
Chile.

6
  Perforated shape countries: A country that completely surrounds another country like
the Republic of South Africa.
 Protrude shape countries: Countries that have one portion that is much more elongated
than the rest of the country like Myanmar and Eritrea.
There are various ways of measuring shape of countries. These measures are known as the
indices of compactness. These indices measure the deviation of the shape of a country from a
circular shape, which is the most compact shape. Since there is no country with absolutely
circular shape, those approximating a circular shape are said to be more compact.
There are four most commonly used measures of compactness. These are:
1. The ratio of area of country to its boundary length: Area-Boundary ratio. The higher the
A/B ratio, the greater the degree of compactness.
2. The ratio of boundary length of a country to the circumference of a circle having the
same area as the country itself: Boundary-Circumference ratio. It measures how far the
boundary of a country approximates the circumference of a circle of its own size.
Therefore, the nearer the ratio to 1 the more compact the country is.
3. The ratio of the area of the country to the circumference of the smallest inscribing circle:
Area-Circumference ratio. It compares the area of the country with the circumference of a
circle that passes touching the extreme points on the boundary of the country. The higher
the A/C ratio, the greater the degree of compactness.
4. The ratio of the actual area of a country to the smallest possible inscribing circle: Area-
Area (A/A’) ratio. The area of the inscribing circle is the area of the smallest possible
circle whose circumference passes through the extreme points on the boundary. Half-
length of the longest distance between two extreme points gives radius of the inscribing
circle. The nearer the ratio to 1, the more compact the country is.
Table 1.3: Ethiopia's shape compared to its neighbors in the Horn
Country Area(km2) Boundary (km) A/B ratio B/C ratio A/C ratio
Ethiopia 1,106,000 5,260 210.27 1.41 296.61
Djibouti 22,000 820 26.83 1.56 41.83
Eritrea 117,400 2,420 48.51 1.99 96.83
Kenya 582,644 3,600 161.85 1.33 215.28
Somalia 637,657 5,100 125.03 1.80 225.22
Source: Bekure (1982, 1983)
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1.3. Basic Skills of Map Reading
Activity 1.2
1. Define a map,
2. What is marginal information of a map? How important is it to read maps?
3. State the importance of a map.

What is a Map?
A map is a two-dimensional scaled representation of part or whole of the Earth surface on a flat
body such as piece of paper, black board, wood or cloth.

Map reading encompasses a systematic identification of natural features and manmade features.
Natural features include mountains, plateaus, hills, valleys, river, ocean, rocks, plain etc. On the
other hand, manmade features include roads, railway, buildings, dam etc. Although many
disciplines use maps, they have a special significance for Geographers as primary tools for
displaying and analyzing spatial distributions, patterns and relations. Since these features cannot
easily be observed and interpreted in real landscapes, maps are essential to Geographers.

Importance of maps

 Provide the basis for making geographical details of regions represented i.e. the
geographical facts of an area such as relief, drainage, settlement etc.
 Maps are powerful tools for making spatial analysis of geographical facts of areas
represented.
 Maps are useful for giving location of geographical features by varied methods of grid
reference, place naming etc.
 Maps are used on various disciplines like land use planning, military science, aviation,
tourism, marine science, population studies, epidemiology, geology, economics, history,
archaeology, agriculture etc.
 Map makes storage of the geographical data of areas represented.
 Maps are potentially used to asses’ reliable measurements of the geographical features.
The measurements can be of area size, distance etc.

8
Types of Map

There are many types of maps according to their purpose and functions. For the purpose of this
course, topographical and statistical maps are considered.
a. Topographical maps: Topographic maps depict one or more natural and cultural
features of an area. They could be small, medium or large scale depending on the size of
the area represented. Contents of topographical maps depend on purpose of a map, scale
of a map, date of compilation, and nature of the land represented.
b. Special purpose/statistical maps: These are maps, which show distribution of different
aspects such as temperature, rainfall, settlement, vegetation etc.
Marginal Information on Maps (Elements of Maps)

Marginal information is shown on a map to enable the reading and interpretation of the
geographical information of an area represented. This includes:

a. Title: It is the heading of the given map which tells what the map is all about.
b. Key (legend): It is the list of all convectional symbols and signs shown on the map with
their interpretation.
c. Scale: It is the ratio between the distance on the map and the actual ground distance.
Scales enable the map user to interpret the ground measurement like road distance, areal
sizes, gradient etc. It can be expressed as representative fraction, statements/verbal scale,
and linear (graphic) scale.
d. North arrow: It is indicated with the north direction on a map; used to know the other
important directions of the mapped area like east, west, south, and west.
e. Margin: Is the frame of the map. It is important for showing the end of the mapped area.
f. Date of compilation: It is a date of map publication. This enables map users to realize
whether the map is updated or outdated.

1.3.1. Basic Principles of Map Reading

In developing map reading abilities and skills, certain basic principles must be applied by the
map-reader to translate map symbols into landscape images. Map Readers must have ideas about
the symbol and also the real World (landscapes). Every map symbol must be visualized by the
reader to read a map. The first symbols introduced should be those, which refer to landscape

9
features of which the reader already has some images. Map symbols should be introduced as
needed.

Secondly, knowledge of directions is an important principle in reading maps. One of the basic
functions of maps is to help us to orient ourselves and to locate places on the earth. Unless a
reader knows the basic directions, he or she may not use a map effectively. Before locating
features using a map, north (the north arrow) should be determined and the readers should have
practice in finding this direction. Next they should learn to read direction on a specific map and
the location of the features shown on the map in relation to one another.

Maps are covered in a series of lines that make up a grid. The lines have numbers accompanying
them that allow you to accurately pinpoint your location on a map. Once you have located where
you are, the grid system makes it simple to give an accurate description of your location. This
description, which will be a series of numbers, is known as a grid reference.

Understanding Your Map

Do you know that it is possible to locate places using latitudes and longitudes?

Maps are covered in a series of lines that make up a grid. The lines have numbers accompanying
them that allow you to accurately pinpoint your location on a map. Once you have located where
you are, the grid system makes it simple to givean accurate description of your location. This
description, which will be a series of numbers, is known as a grid reference.

Grid References

Before you begin to look at grid references it is important to be aware that all the numbers going
across the face of the map, for example, left to right, are called easting (heading eastward), and
similarly, all the numbers going up the face of the map from bottom to top are called northings
(heading in a northward direction). There are two main types of grid reference:

4-Figure Reference

10
When giving a 4-figure grid reference you should
always give the eastings number first and the
northings number second. For example, the number 2
in the diagram opposite is 19 across and 45 up and
therefore the 4-figure grid reference is 1945.The
numbered squares on the diagram above would have
the following4-figure grid references:
1 = 18 45, 2 = 19 45
3 = 18 44, 4 = 19 44

6-figure map references

Having worked out the basic 4-figure grid reference the 6 figure or digit can easily be
understood. A single square given in 4-figure
reference is further divided up into tenths. Using the
example, the grey box is in the square 1844. More
accurately it is 7 tenths across and 8 tenths up within
the grid square 1844 and therefore has the 6-figure
map reference 187448.

The shapes on the diagram would have the following

6-figure grid references:

The gray square = 187448, The red circle = 185443

Review Questions

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. What are the implications of location, shape and size of Ethiopia and the Horn on the
physical environment, socioeconomic and political aspects?
2. Explain the themes of Geography.
3. What are the basic principles of map reading?

11
 CHAPTER TWO
THE GEOLOGY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN

2.1. Introduction
Geology is an Earth science that studies the evolution of the earth, the materials of which it is
made of, and the processes acting upon them. Much of Geology is concerned with events that
took place in the remote past when no one was around to witness them and with features which
are far beneath the earth’s surface where no one can see them. A great deal of geological
understanding must, therefore, be obtained by inference, using clues from what can be seen and
what can be measured. There are many such clues not only the rocks and landforms which can be
observed and studied at the Earth’s surface, but also those provided by indirect methods such as
geophysics (e.g. studying earthquake waves which can penetrate deep beneath the Earth’s
surface), geochemistry (analysis of the detailed composition of rocks which can give clues as to
their origin) and geochronology (methods for finding the ages of rocks, usually from the
radioactive elements they contain).

Therefore, this chapter will focus on the geology of Ethiopia and the Horn. In this chapter, you
will study the geologic forces acting up on earth and their resulting land form, geological time
scale and age dating techniques.

Objectives
After completing this chapter, the students will be able to:
 Analyze the geologic processes and the resultant land forms of Ethiopia and the Horn.
 Examine the formation of the Rift Valley.
 Recognize the current status of Ethiopian mineral endowment associated with geologic
processes.

2.2. Origin of the Universe: The Big Bang Theory

According to Big Bang theory, the universe is the result of the explosion of matter which has
extremely high density and temperature. Some 10 to 20 billion year ago, all matter in the known
universe were once concentrated into a single point called cosmic egg. The reason for the wide
acceptance of this theory is that the universe and galaxies are still moving apart at a tremendous
speed. This expansion of galaxies suggests the occurrence of original explosion.

12
The explosion destroyed the mass, and all the matter was thrown into space in all direction. The
violence of the explosion was so great that matter of the cosmic (space) egg was reduced to
subatomic particles, which soon reassembled to form only two elements hydrogen and helium.
The universe, shortly after explosion, comprised an expanding cloud of gases composed of
nearly 73% hydrogen, and 27% helium.

Within these gas clouds, future Galaxies, gravity produced much denser and more localized
concentrations of gas. When a temperature of approximately 11 million degree Celsius was
reached, thermonuclear fusion (union) was spontaneously initiated, and stars were born. The
sun's first rays of thermonuclear light blazed across the galaxy 4.5 billion years ago. The primal
earth emerged from a spinning, turbulent cloud of gas, dust and planetoids that surrounded the
new star. During the next 700 million years the cloud settled into a more tranquil solar systems
third planet began to solidify.

2.3. The Theory of Continental Drift

Continental drift is the movement of the Earth’s continents relative to each other. The earth’s
continents were once bunched up together in to a single huge continent called Pangaea. The
large super continent was then split into smaller fragments over the last million years. These then
drifted apart to form the present arrangement of continents.

Australian Climatologist Alfred Wegener proposed the hypothesis that the continents were once
assembled together as a supercontinent.

Wegener’s principal observations were:

 Fit of the continents: The opposing coastlines of continents often fit together. An even
better fit occurs if the edge of the continent shelf is used, a little offshore. Wegener was
not the first person to notice the similarities between continental coastlines. Early map
makers several centuries before had made the same observation.
 Match of mountain belts, rock types: If the continents are reassembled as Pangaea,
mountains in West Africa, North America, Greenland, and Western Europe match up.
 Distribution of fossils: The distribution of plants and animal fossils on separate
continents forms definite linked patterns if the continents are reassembled.

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  Paleoclimates: rocks formed 200 million years ago in India, Australia, South America,
and southern Africa all exhibited evidence of continental glaciations.

2.4. The Geologic Processes: Endogenic and Exogenic Forces

Geology studies of how Earth's materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over
time. These processes are divided into two major groups: internal and external processes.

The internal processes (endogenic) include volcanic activity and all the tectonic processes
(folding, faulting, orogenesis (mountain building), and epeirogenesis (slow rising and sinking of
the landmass). These processes result in building of structural and volcanic features like plateaus,
rift valleys, Block Mountains, volcanic mountains, etc.

The external (exogenic) processes are geomorphic processes. They include weathering, mass
transfer, erosion and deposition. They act upon the volcanic and structural landforms by
modifying, roughening and lowering them down.

The landmass of Ethiopia, as elsewhere, is the result of the combined effect of endogenic and
exogenic processes. The brief geological history of Ethiopia and the Horn will be dealt
chronologically starting from the oldest Era of the Earth’s history to the recent.

2.5. The Geological Time Scale and Age Dating Techniques

The geological history is divided in to Eras. Each Era is divided into periods. The Eras are given
names that indicate the kind of life that existed in them. For instance, the Paleozoic Era (ancient
life) is the age of invertebrates, the Mesozoic Era (the middle life) is the age of reptiles while the
Cenozoic Era (recent life) is the age of mammals. These geological time divisions basically
differ from each other in such characteristics as the relative position of land and sea, the kind of
climate and most important the kind of animal and plant life that developed and existed during
that Era or period. Geological time is difficult to measure precisely.

The Earth is believed to have been formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago and the earliest
forms of life were thought to have originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago. The first major
boundary is defined by what was believed at the time to be the first appearance of life on earth.
The span of time before life appeared was termed the Precambrian Era. To describe the geology
and history of life on Earth, scientists have developed the geological time scale. The geological
time scale measures time on a scale involving four main units:
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 1. An epoch is the smallest unit of time on the scale and encompasses a period of millions
of years.
2. Chronologically, epochs are clumped together into larger units called periods.
3. Periods are combined to make subdivisions called Eras.
4. An eon is the largest period of geological time.
The division of time units in the geological time scale is usually based on the occurrence of
significant geological events (e.g. mass extinctions). As such, the geological time categories do
not usually consist of a uniform length of time. The geological time scale, illustrated in Table
2.1, is built largely on the basis of life and evolution.
Table 2.1: The Geological time scale

Era Period Began (in Million End (my) Major Events (million years
Years) ago)
Quaternary 1.6 Present Major glaciers in North America
Cenozoic

and Europe (1.5)

Tertiary 70 1.6 Rocky Mountains (65),
individual continents take shape.
Cretaceous 146 70 Dinosaurs extinct (65), western
interior seaway and marine
Mesozoic

reptiles (144 – 65)

Jurassic 208 146 Pangaea (one land mass) begins
to break up (200)
Triassic 225 208 First mammals and dinosaurs

Permian 290 225 Greatest extinction on Earth

(245)
Pennsylvanian 322 290 First reptiles

Mississippian 362 322 Coal-forming forests

Paleozoic

Devonian 408 362 First land animals and first

forests (408)
Silurian 439 408 Life invades land
Ordovician 510 439 First fish appeared
Cambria 600 510 Great diversity of marine
invertebrates

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 Proterozoic 2,500 600 Marine fossil invertebrates (600)
Precambrian
Archean 4,500 2,500 Earliest fossils recorded (3,500),
earliest rock formation (4,000)

2.5.1. Age Dating Techniques

There are two techniques of knowing the age of rocks: Relative and absolute age dating.
A. Relative Dating
Relative dating uses geological evidence to assign comparative ages of fossils. Hence, we can
use two ways to know the relative age of a rock: one way is to look at any fossils the rock may
contain. If any of the fossils are unique to one of the geologic time periods, then the rock was
formed during that particular time period. The second way is to use the "What is on top of the
older rocks?" When you find layers of rocks in a cliff or hillside, younger rocks are on top of
older rocks. But these two methods only give the relative age of rocks -which one is younger and
which is older.
B. Absolute Dating
It is also known as radiometric techniques. This technique was developed with discovery of
radioactivity in 1896. The regular rates of decay for unstable, radioactive elements were found to
constitute virtual “clocks” within the earth’s rocks. Radioactive elements such as uranium (U)
and thorium (Th) decay naturally to form different elements or isotopes of the same element.
Every radioactive element has its own half-life.

At the end of the period constituting one half-life, half of the original quantity of radioactive
element has decayed; after another half-life, half of what was left is halved again, leaving one-
fourth of the original, and so on. Two of the major techniques include:

A. Carbon-14 Technique: Upon the organism’s death, carbon-14 begins to disintegrate at a

known rate, and no further replacement of carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide can
take place. Carbon-14 has half-life of 5730 years.

B. Potassium-Argon Technique: The decay is widely used for dating rocks. Geologists are
able to date entire rock samples in this way, because potassium-40 is abundant in micas,
feldspars, and hornblendes. Leakage of argon is a problem if the rock has been exposed

16
 to temperatures above 125° C (257° F), because the age of the rock will then reflect the
last episode of heating rather than the time of original rock formation.

2.6. Geological Processes and the Resulting Landforms of Ethiopia and the Horn

Activity 2.1

1. Distinguish between endogenic and exogenic processes.

2. What are the major geological processes and the resulting landforms of Ethiopia and the
Horn in each Era?

2.6.1. The Precambrian Era Geologic Processes (4.5 billion - 600 million years ago)

The Precambrian Era covers 5/6th of the Earth’s history. Due to its remoteness in time and the
absence of well-preserved fossils, our knowledge of the events is limited. Nevertheless, some
general description of the main geologic processes can be made.

The major geologic event of the Precambrian Era was Orogenesis. As a result, the land was
subjected to intense folding. This was accompanied by intrusive igneous activity. The result was
the formation of huge mountain ranges. In between the orogenic periods and after the last
orogenesis, there were long periods of denudation, which finally reduced these mountains to
near-level (peneplained) rock surfaces. This “levelled” surface was later (in the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic Eras) covered by younger rock formations. Therefore, in most parts of Ethiopia rocks
belonging to this Era are found beneath all other rocks, forming the basement rocks. Since, they
had been subjected to pressure and heat from overlying weight, earth movements (folding,
orogenesis) and to intrusive igneous activity; the original rocks (both sedimentary and igneous)
were altered into metamorphic rocks of varying stages of metamorphism. Since these same
processes have allowed mineralization and crystal formation, the rocks are also collectively
described as crystalline rocks. The Precambrian rocks are overlaid by recent rock formations.
However, as surface rocks covering 25% of the land mass of the country; they are found exposed
in the following areas:
In the northern part: Western lowlands, parts of northern and central Tigray.

A. In the western Part: Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz (Metekel and Asossa), western

Gojjam, western Wellega, Illuababora, and Abay gorge.
B. In the southern Part: Guji, southern Omo, and parts of southern Bale and Borena.

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 C. In the eastern part: Eastern Hararghe.

2.6.2. The Paleozoic Era Geologic Processes (600million - 225 million years ago)
The Paleozoic Era lasted for about 375 million years. The major geological process of this Era
was denudation. The gigantic mountains that were formed by the Precambrian orogeny were
subjected to intense and prolonged denudation. At the end, the once gigantic mountain ranges
were reduced to a “peneplained” surface. Undulating plain with some residual features
(inselbergs) here and there was formed.The sediments were transported southward and eastward
to form continental (in Africa) and marine deposits, respectively. Because of the limited
deposition within Ethiopia, rocks belonging to this Era are rare in the country.

2.6.3. The Mesozoic Era Geologic Processes (225-70 million years ago)

This Mesozoic Era lasted for about 155 million years. It was an Era of alternate slows sinking
and rising (epeirogenesis) of the landmass. This process affected the whole present-day Horn of
Africa and Arabian landmass. At the same time the land was tilted eastward and therefore lower
in the southeast and higher in the northwest.
The subsidence of the land began about 225 million years ago. As the land sank slowly the sea
invaded it starting from Somalia and Ogaden and slowly spreading northwestward. This was in
late Triassic. This phenomenon continued up to Jurassic period. As the shallow sea spread
towards the land, sands were deposited over the peneplained Precambrian rock surface. As the
depth of the sea increased, mud (shale), gypsum and later lime were deposited. The latter is
associated with the flourishing of marine life and decaying and precipitating of their remains, as
the sea stayed long. Hence, Mesozoic rocks are considered to have the greatest potential for oil
and gas deposits.
Through time, compression by the overlying rocks and by cementing minerals, the sands and
lime were compacted to form sandstone and limestone layers respectively. These are known as
the Adigrat sand stone and Hintalo limestone layers. They are named after place names in Tigray
where they might have been first identified.

In the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia, the slow rise of the land and consequently the regression of
the sea began in the Upper Jurassic. It continued throughout the Cretaceous period. With the
retreat of the sea, another process of deposition occurred. In the country sedimentation ended
with the deposition of clay, silt, sand conglomerate brought in from the land as the sea receded
18
due to uplift of the landmass. Gypsum, shale and at last sands were laid over the Hintalo
limestone. The uppermost layer is known as the Upper sandstone. By the end of the Mesozoic
Era, when the land emerged out of the sea, three major sedimentary formations were laid and
formed upon the Precambrian rock surface. These were the Adigrat or lower sandstone, Hintalo
limestone and Upper Sandstone. As transitional formations, gypsum and shale were inter-
bedded above and below the Hintalo limestone. The Mesozoic sedimentary rocks cover 25% of
the land mass of the country.
Due to the tilting of the landmass during the transgression and regression of the sea, and due to
the direction of the invading and retreating sea, the age and thickness of the Sandstone layers
vary in a Southeast - Northwest direction. The Adigrat sandstone is older and thicker in the
southeast and progressively decreases in age and thickness northwestward. The Upper sandstone,
on the other hand, is thicker and younger (Upper Cretaceous) in the Southeast, while in the
Northwest it is older and thinner.

Figure 2.2. Geological map of Ethiopia

The transgressing sea and Mesozoic sediments nearly covered the whole of Ethiopia. The
northwestern limit was as far as central Tigray, and western slopes of Western highlands. In most
parts of Ethiopia, the Mesozoic rocks are overlaid by the Cenozoic rocks. As surface rocks,
19
these old marine sediments are extensively found in the Southeast lowlands. Other exposures
include central Tigray, and along the gorges of Abay and Wabishebelle rivers
2.6.4. The Cenozoic Era Geologic Processes (70million years ago - Present)
The Cenozoic Era is the most recent of the geologic Eras. The tectonic and volcanic activities
that took place in this Era have an important effect in the making of the present-day landmass of
Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. The land was subjected to two major geologic events and other
geologic processes of lesser magnitude but still important. These geologic activities are:

a. Uplifting of the Arabo-Ethiopian landmass and outpouring of huge quantity of lava.

b. Formation of the Rift Valley.
c. Quaternary volcanism and deposition.
a. Uplifting of the Arabo-Ethiopian landmass and outpouring of lava flood
The uplifting of the whole of the Arabo-Ethiopian landmass is a continuation of the slow rise that
began in the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This huge uplift continued to the Paleocene
and Oligocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Where the uplifting was of greater magnitude, the
land was pushed up to a maximum height of 2,000 meters above sea level. This occurred during
the Eocene epoch. This uplifting was of an epeirogenic character. It was unparalleled anywhere
else except in the Alpine orogenic belts of the Andes. The whole of the Arabo-Ethiopian
landmass was pushed up in blocks as one mass. The greatest uplift was in central Ethiopia. This
immense tectonic force also fractured the crust at many places. Huge quantity of lava came out
through these fractures. The out pouring of this flood of basalt spread widely and extensively
and covered a large part of the Mesozoic sedimentary layer to form the Ethiopian plateau surface
and also the floor of the present-day Rift Valley. At that time the Rift Valley was not yet formed.
The mass of lava was so immense, that it formed a thick layer of volcanic rocks on the plateau,
which mounted to more than 1,000 meters above sea level in the north Central Highlands. Where
the lava comes out through vents, huge volcanic rocks were piled up to form many and huge
Volcanic Mountains’ towering the flat basaltic plateau. This volcanic material is known as
Trappean lava or Trap Series lava. Where it is not dissected by erosion, the Ethiopian plateau had
flat and nearly horizontal surface. This is an expression of the peneplaned Precambrian surfaces,
the smothering effect of the Mesozoic deposition, and the spreading of the Trap series lava over
the Mesozoic sediments.

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b. The Formation of the Rift Valley
The formation of the Rift Valley is said to be related with the theory of plate tectonics.
According to the theory, the Rift Valley may be lying on the Earth’s crust below which lateral
movement of the crust in opposite directions producing tensional forces that caused parallel
fractures or faults on the sides of the up-arched swell. As the tension widened the fractures, the
central part of the landmass collapsed to form an extensive structural depression known as the
Rift Valley (Fig. 2.2).

Figure 2.2. The Ethiopian and East African Rift Valley systems
Source: Africa Map Library

The major faulting movement probably began in the late Oligocene and Miocene Epochs of the
Cenozoic Era. This rifted the Red Sea trough, which began to be flooded from the north. But the
major rifting, affecting the whole African Rift System, including that of Ethiopia and the Gulf of
Aden took place in the Miocene Epoch. Rifting and faulting, however, continued all the time
throughout the Pliocene and even the Pleistocene Epochs.

21
The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were connected as a result of the rifting and faulting of the
land bridge that separated them. At the same period (Pliocene), the Afar depression (including
the Gulf of Zula) was down-faulted allowing the Red Sea water to penetrate far inside. Reversed
tilting and volcanic activity, later (Pleistocene) blocked the connection and isolated the extension
of the sea, allowing much of the water to evaporate. As a result, thick saline materials
accumulated. During the same period, the area between the Danakil Depression and the Red Sea
was uplifted to form the Afar Block Mountains.

The Spatial Extent of the Rift Valley

The Ethiopian Rift Valley is part of the Great East African Rift system that extends from
Palestine-Jordan in the north to Malawi-Mozambique in the south, for a distance of about 7,200
kilometers. Of these, 5,600 kilometers is in Africa, and 1,700 kilometers in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
On land, the widest part of the Rift Valley is the Afar Triangle (200-300 km). The Red Sea, the
Gulf of Aden, and the East African System meet and form the triangular depression of the Afar
where the Kobar Sink lies about 125 meters below sea level. The formation of the Gulf of Aden
and the separation of the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa also took place during the
Tertiary period. The Rift Valley region of Ethiopian is the most unstable part of the country.
There are numerous hot springs, fumorales, active volcanoes, geysers, and frequent earthquakes.
The formation of the Rift Valley has the following structural (physiographic) effects:

 It divides the Ethiopian Plateau into two.

 It separates the Arabian landmass from African landmass.
 It causes the formation of the Dead Sea, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden troughs.
 It creates basins and fault depressions on which the Rift Valley lakes are formed.

Faulting and graben formation are not only limited to the Rift Valley. For example, similar
tectonics activities have occurred in the Lake Tana Basin. However, the formation of Lake Tana
had been accentuated by volcanic activity so that lava flow in the southeast had dammed part of
the rim to deepen the basin. Faulting in other places had a structural control along some part of
the river courses.

c. Quaternary Volcanic Eruptions and Depositions

They are recent volcanic activities that took place after the formation of the Rift Valley. This
occurred in the Pliocene-Pleistocene Epochs. This is a continuation of the tectonic and volcanic
22
processes that earlier affected the Rift Valley formation.It occurred in the form of renewed
rifting/faulting and more volcanism. This activity was generally limited to the floor of the Rift
Valley and the region south of Lake Tana, where the lava covers an area of more than 3,000km2.
Aden volcanics and recent faulting are more extensively developed in the Afar region. The area
is shattered by numerous faults and subjected to extensive scoriaceous basalt eruptions. The
latter phenomenon is also widely manifested in the main Ethiopian Rift, especially in its northern
section. Some of the eruptions have occurred in the last few hundred years. Because of their
recent occurrence, the Aden volcanics have relatively well-preserved and visible morphological
features. The basic volcanic features of the Aden series include the following:

 Numerous and freshly preserved volcanic cones, many of which have explosive craters.
Some of these are active Dubi, Erta Ale, Afrera etc.Of these, Erta Ale is the most active
volcano in Ethiopia.
 Volcanic hills and mountains, some of which are semi-dormant (Fantale, Boseti-Gouda
near Adama, Aletu north of Lake Ziway, Chebbi north of Lake Hawassa etc.).
 Extensive lava fields and lava sheets some of which are very recent.
 Lava ridges.
 Thermal springs, fumaroles etc.
Quaternary Deposition

During the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic Era, the Earth experienced a marked climatic
change, where warmer and dry periods were alternating with cooler and wet periods. This was
the time of the last ‘’Ice Age’’ in the middle and high latitude areas and the time of the ‘‘Pluvial
Rains’’ in Africa. The heavy Pluvial Rains eroded the Ethiopian plateau and the eroded materials
were deposited in the Rift Valley lakes.

The excessive rain resulted in an excessive surface flow; rivers were many and large. They
carried a lot of water and sediments. Lake and marshy areas became numerous and deep. Many
were enlarged and covered much area and even merged together. For example, Ziway-Langano-
Shalla; Hawasa-Shallo; Chamo-Abaya; and Lake Abe and the nearby smaller lakes and marsh
basins formed huge lakes.

After the ‘‘Pluvial Rains’’, the Earth’s climate became warmer and drier. Thus, it increased the
rate of evaporation that diminished the sizes of the lakes. Today, there are lacustrine deposits of

23
continental origin around many of the Ethiopian lakes, river valleys and lowlands. According to
the place and manner of deposition and depositing agents these deposits are divided as follow.

a. Lacustrine deposits: Deposits on former lakebeds, and swampy depressions.

b. Fluvial deposits:Deposits on the banks of rivers, flood plains both in plateau, foothills
etc.
c. Glacio-fluvial deposits and erosional features: These are occurred on high mountains,
such as Bale and Kaka Mountains.
d. Aeolian deposits:Are windblown deposits.
e. Coastal and marine deposits: Deposits on sea invaded and sea-covered places.
The quaternary deposits are mainly found in the Rift Valley (Afar and Lakes Region), Baro
lowlands, southern Borena, and parts of northwestern low lands. Generally, the Cenozoic rocks
cover 50% of the land mass of the country. These include Highland Tertiary volcanics (basalts),
Tertiary as well as Quaternary volcanics, and sediments of the rift valley.

2.7. Rock and Mineral Resources of Ethiopia

The occurrence of metallic minerals in Ethiopia is associated with the Precambrian rocks.
Although not in sufficient concentration and extent, a great variety of such minerals occur in the
basement rocks. These rocks contain most of the metallic deposits known at present.

The exploitation and search for mineral deposits in Ethiopia has been taking place for the past
2,000 years or so, and its early cultures were based partially on the mineral wealth of the day.
Such has been the case of gold production and utilization, which has become part of Ethiopia’s
history, tradition and folklore. The mining and working of iron for the manufacture of tools,
utensils and weapons, and the use of salt and salt-bar all these indicate to a fairly long mining
tradition. However, presently mineral production from Ethiopia has been negligible by World
standards.

2.7.1. Brief Facts and Current State of Main Minerals in Ethiopia

Geological surveys proved that Ethiopia has abundant mineral resources of metals and precious
metals, coal, and industrial minerals.

Gold

24
Gold has been mined in Ethiopia for quite long time, mainly from Benishangul-Gumuz
(Metekel) and Adola. Operating mines produce gold from primary sources in such localities as
Dermi-dama, Sakoro and Lega-dembi. Mechanised alluvial working is confined to the state-
operated gold field of Adola. Secondary gold deposits are common in the following localities:
Adola, Murmur Basin, Shakiso, Awata Basin, Dawa Basin, Ghenale Basin, Ujama
Basin,Makanisa (Guba and Wombera), Kaffa. In Gambella and Illuababora (Akobo River), in
Sidama (Wondo), Borena (Negele-Yabelo area) and in Benishangul-Gumuz (Sherkole), west
Wellega, Mengi-Tumat-Shangul areas to the Sudanese border, and the drainage of the Didessa
and Birbir.
Platinum
The Yubdo area in Wellega, is the only active Ethiopian Platinum mine. Platinum occurrences
have been reported from Delatti in Wellega, and the valley of Demi-Denissa and Bone Rivers as
well as Tullu Mountain area in Sidama.
Tantalum
Significant deposit of tantalum and niobium is found in southern Ethiopia. It occurs in Adola
area where Kenticha Tantalum mine with resources of more than 17,000 metric tons of world
class ore reserve is found.
The sedimentary and volcanic rock activities are also resourceful.Extensive lignite deposits in
Ethiopia are found in Nedjo (Wellega), and in small amounts in Chilga (Gonder) are found in the
sedimentary formations laid in between Trapean lava. However, important Lignite, one of the
lowest ranked coal, is known to occur in many localities such as in the Beressa Valley
andAnkober (North Shewa), Sululta (nearAddis Ababa),Muger Valley (West Shewa), Aletu
valley (near Nedjo), Kariso and Selmi Valleys (Debrelibanos), Zega wodem gorge (near Fiche),
Didessa Valley (southwest of Nekemte), Kindo and Challe Valley (Omo confluence),
Adola,Wuchalle (north of Dessie), Chukga area (on Gonder-Metema road), Dessie area (near
Borkena River). These areas are promise to be a good prospect to meet some of the local
industrial and domestic needs.
Gemstones
Gemstones, including amethyst, aquamarine, emerald, garnet, opal, peridot, sapphire, and
tourmaline occur in many parts of Ethiopia, mainly in Amhara and Oromia Regional States.
Quality Opal was first discovered by local people in Wadla and Dalantaworedas, North Welloin
Amhara Regional State.

25
Potash
The potash reserve in the Danakil (Dallol Depression) of the Afar region is believed to be
significant.

Gypsum and Anhydrite

A limited amount of gypsum is produced for domestic consumption in Ethiopia, mainly for the
cement industry, but very large deposits are known to occur in sedimentary formations of the
Red Sea coastal area, Danakil Depression, Ogaden, Shewa, Gojjam, Tigray, and Hararghe. Total
reserves are probably enormous because the thickness of the gypsum deposits is many hundreds
of meters and the formation are known to extend laterally for hundreds of kilometers.

Clay

Ethiopia is endowed with industrial clay material. Alluvial clay deposits for bricks and tile,
pottery and pipe industry occur in Adola, Abay gorge, and the Rift Valley lakes region. Ceramic
clay for the production of glasses, plates, bricks is found at Ambo and Adola. Tabor ceramic
industry in Hawassa gets most of its raw materials from local sources.

Marble
Crystalline limestone is widespread in the basement rocks of Ethiopia. Marble has been quarried
in such localities as west of Mekelle and south of Adwa in Tigray. In the east in Galetti, Soka,
Ramis, Rochelle, Kumi and other valleys of Chercher Mountain in West Hararghe. In the
northwestern also in areas built of Precambrian schist in Gonder, and the Dabus River and other
neighboring river basins in Benishangul-Gumuz and Gojjam.

Construction stones
Basalt, granite, limestone and sandstone are important building stones. For the surfacing of roads
and compaction, basalt, scoria and other volcanic rocks are extensively used. Mesozoic
limestone is an important raw material for cement and chalk production.The earlier cement
works at Dire Dawa and the recent ones at Muger Valley, Abay gorge (Dejen), Tigray (Messebo)
are using similar raw materials from these rock formations.

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2.7.2. Mineral Potential Sites of Ethiopia

According to the Ethiopian geological survey, the geologic formations that host most mineral
potentials of Ethiopia includes three major greenstone belts and other formations (Fig. 2.3).
These are:
1. The Western and South-western-greenstone belt: They contain various minerals: primary
gold occurrences (Dul,Tulu-Kape,Oda-Godere, Akobo,Baruda,Bekuji-Motish and
Kalaj);Yubdo Platinum, Base metals of AzaliAkendeyu, Abetselo and Kata;Fakushu
Molybdenite and the iron deposits of Bikilal, Chago, Gordana and Korre, Benshagul-Gumuz-
Marble, Akobo and Asosa placer gold deposits and etc.
2. The Southern greenstone belt:It is known as the Adola belt, which comprises the primary
gold deposits and occurrences of Lega-dembi, Sakaro, Wellena, Kumudu, Megado-Serdo,
Dawa Digati, Moyale and Ababa River;the columbo-tantalite of kenticha and Meleka, andthe
Adola nickel deposit and other industrial minerals.
3. The Northern greenstone belt(Tigray): This belt comprises of the primary gold occurrences
of Terakemti, Adi-Zeresenay, and Nirague.The base metals of Terer, Tsehafiemba and other
parts of Tigray, Placer gold occurrences of Tigray.
Review Questions
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What were the major geologic processes of the Precambrian and Paleozoic Eras in the
Horn of Africa?
2. Explain the formation of the oldest sedimentary rocks in Ethiopia and the Horn.
3. Discuss the major geologic events of Ethiopia that took place during the Cenozoic Era.
4. Where are the major mineral potential sites of Ethiopia? Discuss each of them with the
help of examples.

27
 CHAPTER THREE
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN

3.1. Introduction
The topography of Ethiopia is largely determined by the geologic activities of the Cenozoic Era.
The uplifting of the Arabo-Ethiopian swell and the subsequent outpouring, spreading and thick
accumulation of Trapean lava have given rise to an outward sloping highland plateau and
mountains. The major faulting resulted in the division of the plateau into two broad units and the
formation of a great structural valley. Faulting elsewhere and on the floor guided part of the
course of some rivers. They also formed depressions on which lakes were subsequently created.
Geomorphic processes brought some modification to the structural landform by river dissection
and roughening on the highlands, and deposition on the lower areas.

Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the learners will be able to:
 Describe the topography of Ethiopia and the Horn.
 Identify the physiographic divisions of Ethiopia.
 Elucidate the physiographic characteristics of the Rift Valley.
 Explain the impacts of relief on biophysical and socioeconomic conditions
General Characteristics of the Ethiopian Physiography

The Ethiopian landform is characterized by great diversity. There are flat-topped plateaus, high
and rugged mountains, deep river gorges and vast plains. Altitude ranges from 125 meters below
sea level (Kobar Sink) to the highest mountain in Ethiopia, Mount Ras Dashen (4,620 m.a.s.l),
which is the fourth highest mountain in Africa. Ethiopia has the largest proportion of elevated
landmass in the African continent. It is sometimes described as the Roof of East Africa because
of its height and large area. More than 50% of the Ethiopian landmass is above 1,000 meters of
elevation; and above 1,500 meters makes 44% of the country. Half of this, in turn, is at more
than 2,000 meters above sea level. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and
northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion extends into Eritrea.

The highland core, on the other hand, is encircled by semi-arid and lowlands. The Ethiopian
Highlands are rugged mass of mountains, situated in the Horn of Africa. They are the most
significant physical features of the country, which form the largest continuous area of its
28
elevation in the continent. They have been dissected by several rivers and ravines which have cut
deep gorges. They have been divided into several regions and mountain systems. Most of the
country consists of high plateau and mountain ranges that are sources of many rivers and streams
that made the country to be described as the “Water Tower of East Africa”.

The diversity in topography is accompanied by differences in other natural features such as soil,
climate, vegetation and wild life. Likewise, the socio-cultural and economic phenomena are also
affected by the topography.

Taking the 1,000 meters contour line for the highland-lowland demarcation, one observes the
following contrasting features between the Ethiopian highlands and lowlands:

 Characteristics of Ethiopian highlands:

 Moderate and high amount of rainfall (>600 mm per year).
 Lower mean annual temperature (<200C).
 The climate is favourable for biotic life.
 Rain-fed agriculture is possible.
 Free from tropical diseases.
 Attractive for human habitation and densely settled.
The cumulative effect of all this is that, the highlands have been significant throughout Ethiopian
history in the economic, cultural and political life of the people. These highlands make up nearly
56% of the area of the Ethiopia. This is further subdivided into lower highland (1,000 - 2,000
m.a.s.l), which make up 35% and higher highland (>2,000 m.a.s.l) constituting nearly 22%.

 In contrast to the highlands, the remaining 44% of the Ethiopian lowlands are
characterized by:
 Fewer amounts of rainfall and higher temperature.
 High prevalence of tropical diseases.
 Lower population densities.
 Nomadic and semi-nomadic economic life.
 Vast plain lands favourable for irrigation agriculture along the lower river basins.

29
3.2. The Physiographic Divisions of Ethiopia
What are the major physiographic divisions of Ethiopia? Can you explain the formation of
Ethiopian rift valley? What biophysical characteristics can you mention about areas under rift in
Ethiopia?

Following the structural divisions brought about by the geologic processes of the Cenozoic Era,
three major physiographic units can be identified in Ethiopia. These are:

1. The Western highlands and lowlands

2. The South-eastern (Eastern) highlands and lowlands
3. The Rift Valley

3.2.1. The Western Highlands and Lowlands

This physiographic unit includes all the area west of the Rift Valley. It extends from north to
south encompassing nearly the whole western half of Ethiopia. It makes up about 44% of the
area of the country. In the east the western escarpment of the Rift Valley bound it whereas
westward, the land gradually descends in altitude until it merges into the western foothills and
lowlands, along the Sudan and South Sudan border. This region is further subdivided into four
groups of highlands (76.3%) and four groups of lowlands (23.7%) (See Fig. 3.1).

The Western Highlands

a. The Tigray Plateau

It extends from the Tekeze gorge in the south to central Eritrean highlands. The Tigray plateau is
separated from the Eritrean plateau by the Mereb River. It lies to the southeast of the upper
course of the Mereb/Gash River and to the northeast of Tekeze River Gorge. It constitutes about
13% of the area of the region. It is an elongated highland with most of the land being in between
1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level. The right bank tributaries of Tekeze drain this plateau.
Long period of denudation has created residual features of granite hills, rugged topography, and
Ambas. There are high mountains in this plateau with elevations of over 3000 meters, namely
Mount Tsibet (3988 m.a.s.l), Mount Ambalage (3291 m.a.s.l), and Mount Assimba (3248
m.a.s.l).

The famous monastery at Debre-Damo, a tableland that can only be climbed by a rope pulley is
also located in this plateau region.
30
Figure 3.1. Ethiopian Topography
Source: DEM from USGS earth explorer and shape file from Africa Map Library

b. North Central Massifs

This Physiographic division is the largest in the western highlands. Much of its northern and
southern limit follows the Abay and Tekeze gorges. The Abay, Tekeze and their tributaries have
cut into this region a maze of gorges, steep sided river valleys, dividing the land into many
isolated plateau blocks, precipitous tablelands and other rugged surface forms. But much of
these plateau and tablelands are still capped by the Trappean lava. In its central part, the
physiographic unit also accommodates the Lake Tana basin surrounded by plains of Fogera and
Dembia in the north and an upland plain in its south.

Fifty-eight percent of the region is at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters, making it, next to the
Shewan Plateau, the second highest physiographic division. The region consists of the Gonder,
Wello and Gojjam Massifs. Out of the 26 mountain peaks with altitude of more than 4,000m.a.s.l
in Ethiopia, 19 mountain peaks are found in this physiographic region. Among these, the most
popular ones include Mount Ras Dashen (4,620 m.a.s.l), Mount Weynobar/Ancua (4462 m.a.s.l),
Mount KidisYared (4453 m.a.s.l), and Mount Bwahit (4437 m.a.s.l) in the Simen Mountain

31
System. Mount Guna (4,231m.a.s.l) in the Debre Tabour Mountain System, Abune Yoseph
(4,260 m.a.s.l) in the Lasta highlands of Wello and Mount Birhan (4,154 m.a.s.l) in the Choke
Mountain System in Gojjam are also part of Simen Mountain System. These mountains have
steep cliffs and rugged terrain that provide scenic views to climbers

The Mountain systems in Gonder and Gojjam are separated from the eastern group of mountains
in Wello by impenetrable and deep gorges. At one point though, they are connected by Yeju-
WadlaDelanta land bridge (ridge). This land bridge has been significant in history. It served as a
route of penetration by the Turks, Portuguese, and Italians etc. The Woreta-Debre Tabor-Woldya
road constructed to link the northwestern region with Asseb through Woldya and Dessie took
advantage of this land bridge.

c. The Shewa Plateau/central highlands

The Shewan plateau is bounded by the Rift Valley in the east and southeast, by the Abay gorge
in its northern and western limit, and the Omo gorge in the south and west. This plateau
occupies a central geographical position in Ethiopia. With only 11% of the area of the whole
physiographic region, the Shewa Plateau is the smallest of the Western highlands. Nearly three-
fourth of its area is at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has, therefore, the
largest proportion of elevated ground.

The Shewa plateau is drained, outward in all directions by the tributaries of Abay, Omo, and
Awash. It, therefore, forms a water divide for these three river basins. The tributaries of Abay-
Guder, Muger, Jema etc. have cut deep gorges and steep sided river valleys. They have created
several tablelands and isolated plateau units in the north. Similarly, the tributaries of Omo and
Awash have dissected the other sides of the plateau. Otherwise, this plateau has relatively
extensive flat-topped uplands, giving it the appearance of a true plateau. The highest mountain in
the Shewan plateau is Mount Abuye-Meda (4,000 m.a.s.l) in Northern Shewa, Mount Guraghe in
the south is 3,721 meters high.

d. The Southwestern Highlands

This Physiographic subdivision consists of the highlands of Wellega, Illuababora, Jimma, Kaffa,
Gamo and Gofa. This region is separated from the adjacent highlands by the Abay and Omo
river valleys. It extends from the Abay gorge in the north to the Kenya border and Chew Bahir in

32
the south. It accounts for 22.7% of the area of the region. The region is the second largest in the
Western highlands. About 70% of its area is lies within 1,000-2,000 meters altitude.

The southwestern plateau is the wettest in Ethiopia. It is drained by Dabus, Deddessa (tributaries
of Abay), Baro, Akobo and the Ghibe/Omo rivers. The numerous streams have cut these
highlands to produce the most dissected and rugged terrain that accommodates the most
numerous and diverse ethnic linguistic groups in Ethiopia. With a height of 4,200 meters above
sea level, Guge Mountain is the highest peak in this physiographic subdivision.

The Western Lowlands

These are the western foothills and border plains that extend from Western Tigray in the north to
southern Gamo-Gofa in the South. In certain places, ridges or part of the highlands protrude into
the lowlands, interrupting their continuity. They make 11% of the area of the physiographic
region. The general elevation ranges between 500 and 1000 meters above sea level.

This physiographic sub-region is further subdivided into four by the protruding ridges.
These are Tekeze lowland, Abay-Dinder lowland, Baro lowland, and Ghibe lowland from
north to south.

With the exception of the Baro lowland, the region is generally characterized by arid or
semi-arid conditions. Pastoral or semi-pastoral economic activities dominate the area. As
one moves northwards, the degree of aridity increases, making rain-fed agriculture more
difficult. Since one or two rivers cross all of these lowlands, irrigation agriculture is highly
feasible. For example, the Baro lowland has an extensive flat area suitable for mechanized
agriculture.

The Ghibe/Omo lowland, which includes the lower Ghibe/Omo Valley and the northern
section of the Turkana basin, is classified in the Western lowlands from its geographical
location. But structurally it also belongs to the Rift Valley. It is an area, which is both
faulted and tectonically depressed.

In the Western lowlands, there are small but important towns. Their importance could be
related to agriculture, history, or are simply border towns and frontier ports. These are
Humera, Metema, Omedla, Kurmuk, Gambella etc.

33
3.2.2. The Southeastern Highlands and Lowlands

This physiographic region is the second largest in terms of area. It accounts for 37% of the
area of Ethiopia. The highlands make up 46% of the physiographic division while the rest is
lowland. In the west and north, the eastern escarpment of the Rift Valley makes the western
and northern limit. In many places the land raises so abruptly that from the edge of the
plateau one literally looks down the Rift Valley. From here, the land gradually descends
southeastward into the southeastern lowlands and then to the plains of Somalia. These are
further subdivided into two units of highlands and two units of extensive lowlands. These
are briefly discussed as follows.

The Southeastern Highlands

A. The Arsi-Bale-Sidama Highlands

These highlands are found to the east of the Lakes Region. They are located in the south
western section of the physiographic region. They make up 28.5% of the area of the region
and 62% of the south - Eastern Highlands.

The Arsi Highlands are made up of flat rolling uplands and dissected mountains. The well-
known mountains in this area are Mount Kaka (4,180 m.a.s.l), Mount Bada (4,139 m.a.s.l)
and Mount Chilalo (4,036 m.a.s.l).

The Bale highlands are separated from the Arsi highlands by the head and main stream of
Wabishebelle. They consist of a platform looking basaltic plateau in the north-central part
and high mountain massif to the south. The Afro-Alpine summit of Senetti plateau is found
on the latter group. The highest mountain peaks in this region are Tulu-Demtu (4,377
m.a.s.l) and Mount Batu (4,307 m.a.s.l). Erosion features belonging to Pleistocene
glaciation but later modified by fluvial processes are seen in the trough-like gorges, hanging
valleys, and depressions. The Arsi-Bale Highlands are important grains producing areas with
still high potential.

The Sidama Highlands are separated from the Bale Highlands by the Ghenale river valley.
They occupy the southwestern corner of this region. The prominent feature here is the
Jemjem plateau, an important coffee growing area.

34
Rivers Wabishebelle and Ghenale along with their tributaries have dissected this
physiographic region. Specially, Weyb River, tributary of Ghenale, has cut an underground
passage (Sof Omar cave) through the Mesozoic Limestone rocks. The cave is found near
Bale Mountains. It is one of the World's most spectacular and extensive underground
caverns creating a magnificent view accessible only by an underground stream.

B. The Hararghe Plateau

This plateau is a north-easterly extension of the south-eastern highlands. It extends from the
Chercher highlands in the south-west to Jigjiga in the east. It makes up 38% of the South
Eastern highlands and 17.4% of the whole physiographic region. It has the smallest
proportion of upper highland (>2,000 meters). It is a low lying and elongated region.

Rising sharply from the Rift Valley floor, it immediately but gently descends east and
southeastward. The left-bank tributaries of Wabishebelle drain it. Much of the Trappean
lava is removed and the Mesozoic rocks are extensively exposed. The highest mountain
here is Mount Gara-Muleta (3,381 m.a.s.l).

The Southeastern Lowlands

The Southeastern lowlands are located in the southeastern part of the country and they are the
most extensive lowlands in Ethiopia. They make up 54% of the area of the physiographic region
and around one-fifth of the country. This region is divided into Wabishebelle plain (60%) and the
Ghenale Plain (40%). They include the plains of Ogaden, Elkere, and Borena. Southeastward
sloping plains characterize these lowlands. These extensive plains are interrupted here and there,
by low hills, low ridges, inselbergs and by shallow and broad river valleys and depressions.

Because of the harsh climatic conditions, these lowlands are little used and support very
small population. They are sparsely inhabited by pastoral and semi-pastoral communities.
The economic potential for this region includes animal husbandry, irrigation, agriculture and
perhaps exploitation of petroleum and natural gas.

3.2.3. The Rift Valley

The Rift Valley is a tectonically formed structural depression. It is bounded by two major and
more or less parallel escarpments. The formation of the Rift Valley has separated the Ethiopian
Highlands and Lowlands in to two. It extends from the Afar triangle in the north to Chew Bahir

35
for about 1,700 km2. It covers 18% of the area of Ethiopia. It is elongated and funnel shaped,
with a NE-SW orientation. It opens out in the Afar Triangle, where it is the widest, and narrows
down to the south.

The floor of the Rift Valley is made up of interconnected troughs, grabens and depressions.
Volcanic rocks, fluvial and lacustrine deposits cover the floor. In many places, numerous
volcanic domes, hills and cinder cones rise from the floor. Altitude in the floor ranges from 125
meters below sea level at Dallol Depression, to as high as 2,000 meters above sea level in the
Lakes region. The bounding escarpments are also of varying heights. From the floor to the edge
of the escarpment, the heights vary from 200 to 1500 meters. Because of its altitudinal variation
and positional differences, the climate also varies from warm, hot and dry to cool and moderately
moist conditions. Similarly, the social and economic life reflects this pattern. There are places,
which are desolate and sparsely inhabited by pastoralists where as in others parts people practice
some rain-fed agriculture.

The Rift Valley is further subdivided into three physiographic sub-regions. These are the Afar
Triangle, the Main Ethiopian Rift, and the Chew Bahir Rift. A brief description of each sub-
division is given below.

i. The Afar Triangle

The Afar Triangle is the largest and widest part of the Rift Valley. It makes up 54% of the Rift
Valley area. It is bounded by the high western and eastern escarpments in the west and east
respectively, and by the Afar and Aisha Horst in the northeast. The area is generally of low
altitude (300-700 meters).

Quite different is the morphology of the Afar depression, triangular-shape lowland, where
elevation drops uniformly from approximately 1,000 meters in the southwest to below sea level
in the north (Danakil depression) and in the east, where the shores of Lake Asal, fluctuating at
around 125 meters below sea level, represent the lowest subaerial point of the African continent.
The depression, which hosts one of the most hostile environments on Earth (maximum
temperatures can exceed 50°C during the summer wet season; Dallol, at the northern tip of Afar.

The area is characterized by faulted depressions (grabens), volcanic hills, active volcanoes,
volcanic ridges, lava fields and low lava platforms. Lakes (Abe, Asale, and Afrera) occupy some
of these basins. A prominent feature in this region is the Denakil Depression (Kobar Sink).
36
Separated from the Red Sea by a 200 meters high land barrier, much of it lies below sea level. A
larger part of this is covered by thick and extensive salt plain. Lake Asale and Lake
Afreraoccupy the lowest parts of this sunken depression.

The Afar Triangle is generally hot and dry. The only respite one gets in the Southern part is
from the waters of the Awash River. The economic importance of this region includes salt
extraction, irrigation along the Awash River and electric potential from geothermal energy.

ii. The Main Ethiopian Rift/Central Rift

It refers to the narrow belt of the Rift Valley that extends from Awash River in the north to Lake
Chamo in the south. It is bounded by the western and eastern escarpments. With the exception
of the Arbaminch area, the bounding escarpments are generally low. This part of the Rift Valley
is the narrowest and the highest. It has an average width of 50-80 kilometers and general
elevation of 1,000-2,000 meters above sea level.

The floor in many places is dotted by cinder cones and volcanic mountains. The big ones
include Mount Fentale, Boseti-guda (near Adama), Aletu (north of Lake Ziway) and Chebi
(north of Lake Hawasa). The northern section has more of these cinder cones and lava fields. The
prominent features, however, are the numerous lakes formed on tectonic sags and fault
depressions.

Because of altitude, the lakes region of the Main Ethiopian Rift is generally milder and watery.
Here rain-fed agriculture is practiced. Other resource bases include the recreational value of the
lakes, the agricultural importance of some streams and lakes, and the geothermal energy
potential.

iii. The Chew Bahir Rift

This is the smallest and the southern-most part of the Rift Valley. Gneissic highlands of Konso
and the surrounding highlands separate it from the Main Ethiopian Rift to the north. The
characteristic feature of this region is the broad and shallow depression, which is a marshy area
covered by tall grass, into which the Segen and Woito streams empty.

37
3.3. The Impacts of Relief on Biophysical and Socioeconomic Conditions
The highly dissected character of the landscape over much of the country’s territory along with
the limited extent to which flat surfaces are present influence the various socioeconomic aspects
of Ethiopia as presented hereunder.
1. Agricultural practices
Relief influences farm size and shape in that in an area of rugged terrain the farmlands are small
in size and fragmented and tend to be irregular in shape.
 Choice of farming techniques and farm implements are highly influenced by relief as in
rugged terrain mechanized farming techniques are difficult to practice.
 Relief influences crop production as some corps are well adapted to higher altitudes
(barley, wheat) and others to low altitude (sorghum, maize).
 The practice of animal husbandry is also influenced by relief as most equines and sheep
are reared in the higher altitudes and camels and goat are well adapted to lower altitudes
2. Settlement pattern
 Highlands of Ethiopia that experience a temperate type of climatic condition that are
mainly free from most of the tropical diseases are densely settled.
 Rugged and difficult terrain hinders the development of settlement and its expansion.
 The highlands of Ethiopia are characterized by sedentary life and permanent settlements
while lowlands that are inhabited by pastoralists have temporary settlements.
3. Transportation and communication
 The highly dissected nature of the landscape is a barrier to the development of internal
surface transportation that resulted in the long-term isolation of many communities
 The difficult terrain makes infrastructure development and maintenance costly.
 TV and radio communications are also highly influenced by relief.
 The rugged topography rendered rivers less navigable due to the waterfalls, deep gorges
and steep cliffs.
4. Hydroelectric power potential
 The great difference in altitude coupled with high rainfall created suitable conditions for
a very high potential for the production of hydroelectric power in Ethiopia.
5. Socio-cultural feeling
 The rugged terrain as a result of excessive surface dissection resulted in the long-term
isolation of communities that led to the occurrence of cultural diversity.

38
  People who live in the highlands have been identifying themselves as degegnas
(mountaineers) and those who live in the lowlands as kollegnas (lowlanders).
6. Impacts on climate
 The climate of Ethiopia is a result of the tropical position of the country and the great
altitudinal variation of the general topography.
 Highlands with higher amount of rainfall and lower rate of evapo-transpiration tend to be
moisture surplus compared to the moisture deficit lowlands.
7. Impacts on soil
 Steep mountain slopes provide low angle of rest, unstable surface materials and subject to
degradation processes and relatively form shallow and little developed soils.
8. Impacts on natural vegetation
 Relief through its effect on climate and hydrology affect the type of natural vegetation
grown in an area.

Review Questions

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. What are the impacts of relief on the biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of
Ethiopia?
2. Discuss the physiographic characteristics of the southeastern highlands and lowlands.

39
 CHAPTER EIGHT
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA

8.1. Introduction
Humans have been involved in a number of activities in order to satisfy their diverse material
and spiritual needs. These activities, which are designed to satisfy the needs of human beings,
are known as economic activities.
Economic activities are highly diversified in their nature and characters. Some are simple
while others are complex. Some are primitive where as others are advanced. But whatsoever
characters they have, all of them are equally important through satisfying peoples’ needs.

Geographers classify a nation’s economy into primary, secondary, tertiary or the service sectors.
Increasingly the service sectors are seen as forming a fourth or quaternary sector and a fifth or
quinary sector. This categorization is seen as a continuum of distance from the natural
environment. The continuum starts with the primary sector of an economy that extracts or
harvests products from the earth. The primary sector includes the production of raw material and
basic foods. Activities associated with the primary sector include agriculture (both subsistence
and commercial), mining, forestry, farming, grazing, hunting and gathering, fishing and
quarrying. The secondary sector of the economy manufactures finished goods. All of
manufacturing activities, and construction lie within the secondary sector. The tertiary sector of
the economy is the service industry that provides services to the general population and
businesses. Activities associated with this sector include retail and wholesale sales,
transportation and distribution, entertainment, restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism,
insurance, banking, healthcare, and law.

In this section, you will learn about the major types of economic activities in Ethiopia;
differentiate their spatiotemporal distributions and their contributions to the overall development
of the country.

Objectives

At the end of this chapter you will be able to:

 explain the roles of mining sector in the Ethiopian economy and the major constraints of
the sector;

116
  discuss the contributions and challenges of fishing and forestry sectors;
 Expound the main contributions, potentials, characteristics and problems of Ethiopian
agriculture;
 Explain the main contributions, potentials, characteristics, distribution and problems of
Ethiopian manufacturing industries;
 Examine types, roles and distribution of transportation infrastructure and services in
Ethiopia
 Identify tourist potentials of the country and look into the performance of the sector to the
socio-economic development of Ethiopia

8.2. Mining Activity in Ethiopia

Brainstorming Questions
1. Are there metallic minerals and non-metallic minerals including fossil fuels in Ethiopia
that could expedite its development?
2. Describe the contribution of mining industry to the economy of Ethiopia.
3. What do you think are the major challenges of the mining sector in Ethiopia?

8.2.1. Introduction

Mining involves the search for minerals from the crust of the earth. Minerals are naturally
occurring organic and inorganic substances. They form important part of natural resources.
Mining is important to the economy of Ethiopia. Currently, mining contributes to only 1.5 % of
GDP (USD 32 billion).

As you have seen in chapter two, the Geology of Ethiopia and the Horn, mineral occurrences are
associated with the geologic process. The oldest (Precambrian) rocks and the sedimentary
(Mesozoic) rocks host most of the economic metallic and nonmetallic mineral deposits in
Ethiopia.

So far, the developed large scale gold mine in Ethiopia is the Lege-dembi gold mine, located in
the southern greenstone belt region. It is operated by private company with estimated reserve of
82 tons and an average annual production of 3.6 tons of gold.

117
There is also small-scale open pit mine of columbo-tantalite at Kenticha in the Adola belt. The
deposit is both a weathered crust ore (the top 60 meters) with proven reserve of 2400 tons of
tantalum pentaoxide and 2300 tons of niobium pentaoxide, and primary ore with proved reserve
of 2393 ton Ta2O5 and 2362.5-ton Nb2O5. The Mine has been operating since 1990 with a pilot
plant producing about 20 tons per year. At present it is producing over 190 tons of tantalite
concentrate of tantalite colombite ore per annum. Tantalum is used in making all electronic
devices such as mobile phones, cameras, computers and so forth and is thus highly demanded.
Ethiopia presently supplies close to ten percent of the World production of tantalum and has a
good potential for a considerable expansion of the percentage.

Secondary enriched (placer) gold has been mined traditionally (artisinaly) for years back to
biblical times. Formalization of the artisanal miners has been strengthened since the early 2000’s
that about 1000 Kg of gold is purchased from the local miners and dealers by the National Bank
of Ethiopia that in turn increases the generation of foreign currency.

Soda ash is being mined at Lake Abiyata in the Rift Valley about 200 kilometers south of Addis
Ababa. The reserve at Lake Abiyata and the surrounding lakes exceeds 460 million tons of
sodium carbonate at salt concentration ranging from 1.1 to 1.9%. The plant is producing about
5,000 tons soda ash per year at semi -industrial scale. The consumers of the soda ash are local
caustic soda factory, soap and detergent manufacturers.

Kaolin, quartz and feldspar are also being mined from the Adola belt in southern Ethiopia by
government enterprise. The consumers of the products are the Awash-Melkasa Aluminium
Sulphate and Sulfuric Acid Factory and the Tabor Ceramics Factory.

Silica sand is also being mined and utilized by local industries. The cement factories of the
country are using high quality limestone, clay, gypsum and pumice as a raw material for cement
production.

There is also large input of construction minerals such as sand, gravel, scoria, crushed stones,
aggregates, pumice, scoria, etc to the construction industry (including buildings, roads, dams,
bridges etc.).

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The gas fields are located in the south-eastern part of the country at Calub, Hilala and Genale gas
fields in the Ogaden Basin. The gas resources potential of these fields has been assessed as 4.6
Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF).

Other mineral products including platinum from laterite, gemstones (opal and other precious
stones) and decorative and construction materials are also produced by licensed foreign and local
mining companies in the southern, western, central and northern regions of the country.

8.2.2. Status of the mineral sector investment in Ethiopia

The Mining laws of Ethiopia have been issued in 1993 and amended recently, to attract private
sector investment compared to other developing countries mining codes. The 1994 mining
regulation was also issued to make all licensing and administration procedures as transparent as
possible.

Encouraging foreign and local mineral development investments have been shown since late
1990's. The total investment amount registered by the private sector to date is about 1.1 Billion
US Dollars where by 95 % percent of it is direct foreign investment for the development of
precious and industrial minerals.
The mining stakes in Ethiopia are held by: The Ethiopian Mineral Development Share
Company, a Government organization (EMDSC) established in 2000 is engaged in all mining
activities in the country; the Ezana Mining Development, functioning since 1993, a privately
owned Ethiopian enterprise in consulting in all aspects related to mining including all
types of explorations; the Midrock Gold, a subsidiary of Midrock Gold Group, in operation at
Shakisso town in southern Ethiopia, involved in gold mining (production of 3500 kg of gold per
year extracting 50,000 tons of rock per month); and the National Mining Corporation (set up
in 1993), a private company involved in all facets of mineral and petroleum product
production including by products.
Potash mining has generated lot of interest in recent years. Allana Potash, a Canadian mining
company is poised to start mining for potash in the Afar Regional State while the Indian Sainik
Potash has been working in the Dallol depression.

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Prospecting for iron, gold and base metals is also in progress in many regions of the country.
More and more gold mines are being located, such as in the Afar region and in the Konso Zone
in south western Ethiopia.

Presently a number of junior exploration and world class mining companies are operating in
Ethiopia for different mineral commodities. Apart from these there are wide ranges of future
investment opportunities found in Ethiopia that hope to be of mutual benefit to the investors and
the speedy socioeconomic development of the country.

8.2.3. The importance of Mining sector in Ethiopia

Economic benefits

 Generates revenue from sales, taxes, royalty: The federal government has been
collecting royalty of about 48.5 million birr (4.4 million USD) from the large-scale
production of gold every year for the last three years. The regional administrations also
collect royalty from the small scale and artisanal production of precious minerals,
industrial and construction materials.
 Generates foreign currency earnings: The amount of foreign currency earning is about
135 million dollars every year for the last couple of years from the sales of export of
minerals such as gold, tantalite concentrate platinum, decorative dimension stones and
gemstones. This export earning contributes up to 7-10 % of the total export foreign
currency earnings of the country.
 Employment opportunity: The contribution of mining to employment in Ethiopia is
today small (a few thousand), as the sector is small and mining is not a labour-intensive
industry. Artisanal mining on the other hand is likely to involve several hundred thousand
workers.
Even though the country is believed to have wide mineral potential, the contribution of the
mining sector to the national economy has been a maximum of 6%.

Social Benefits
 Expansion of infrastructures such as roads, electric power, telecommunication etc
 Expansion of social services such as health facilities, schools service, schools, water
facilities as well as airstrips for the local communities.

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  Train local communities to engage in other form of business such as plantation of coffee
and other trees, introducing agricultural activities (irrigation)
 Promote small entrepreneur’s engagement in the local community by providing services
such as hotel, mini- markets, stationeries, etc.

8.2.4. Environmental issues and management related to mining

It is inevitable that extraction of minerals from the earth leads to disturb the environment. When
disturbing the environment there must be careful and systemic protection of the whole system of
environment that assures sustainable use of the current resource and or ecosystem and that bring
about either less or almost none destruction or pollution of the environment.
The mining legislation of Ethiopia, which came in to effect in 1993 has provision that requires as
compulsory criteria to study, submit and get approval of Environmental Impact Assessment from
the respective Authority in order to develop large scale mining project. The common
environmental issues in Ethiopia to be considered in development of the medium to large scale
mining projects are the surface and ground water system, the physical land management (soil,
rock stability, deforestation grass land, farm land, etc), spillage of strange chemicals/metals, air,
noise, dust, aesthetic values of the area, cultural and tourist heritages, the communities as well as
all other lives surround the mine proximity.
In principle the licensees shall ensure the financial mobilization of the environmental
management and mine closure plan. Therefore, sinking fund is required to be pledged while the
mining activity is going on and management plan shall be implemented throughout the life of the
mine.

8.3. Forestry

It is related to exploiting forest products, which include gathering of fuel wood, production of
timber and charcoal, and construction of houses. Forest resources of Ethiopia were described in
Chapter Six, section 6.2; and in this section emphasis is given on the economic significance of
forestry activity for the national economy.

Economic significance of forest

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Even though the importance of forest and forest product is little in earning foreign exchange,
their significance at local level is large. For instance, their contribution to the national economy
in the form of GDP is about 2.5%.
Most of the trees cut in Ethiopia today are used for domestic purposes like for;
 Fuel wood,
 Timber household furniture,
 For building and construction.
This indicates that forest products are sold on the local markets at lower prices. The commercial
exploitation of forest resources in Ethiopia is still in its infancy stage. This is mainly because of
the following major factors;

 Rapid deforestation
 Low demand for timer
 Lack of modern lumbering technology
 Inaccessibility of natural forest

8.4. Fishery

8.4.1. Introduction

Fishing is a primary economic activity that involves harvesting of fish resources from water
bodies. Fish can provide an important source of proteins in the diet for much of the world’s
population. Fishing is known to be one of the oldest human activities. Still fishing is the most
widely spread economic activity both in private and modern societies.

Due to the presence of a number of lakes, river and reservoirs rich in fish resources, Ethiopia has
great potential for fishing. However, at present there is no reliable estimate due to lack of
exhaustive and systematic (regular) stock assessment. The total estimated potential yield
calculated from the surface area for major lakes is 60,000 tons per year. However, in the face of
the above uncertainty the potential yield stood between 30,000 and 45,000 tons per year for the
main water bodies.

At present in Ethiopia, more than hundred local fish species have been identified. The bulk of the
production is made of Tilapia, Bargus, Clarias and Labeo species. In the two southern Rift

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Valley lakes, Chamo and Abaya, Nile Perch is caught in significant quantity. Nile perch is also
found in major riverine fisheries. Moreover, principal physical characteristics and the recent
estimate of potential yield of the main water bodies are presented in the table given below.

Table 8.1: Estimated fish Resource potential of Ethiopian lakes

Lakes Area Maximum Annual Potential Main Fish Species

Depth (1000 kg live
weight)
Tana 3600 km2 4 15,000 Barbus, Clarius, Tilapia

Abaya 1160 km2 13 7,000 Nile perch, Bagrus, Barbus Clarious,

Labeo
Ziway 434 km2 4 3,000 Tilapia, Barbus
Chamo 557 km2 10 3,000 Nile perch, Bagrus, Barbus, Clarious,
Cyprinus
Koka 250 km2 5 2,000 Tilapia, barbus Clarious, Cyprinus
Langano 230 km2 45 3,000 Tilapia, barbus Clarious
2
Awassa 129 km 10 1,000 Tilapia, Barbus Clarious
Metahara - 85 2,500
Beseka
Source: FAO,2015

8.4.2. Fishing Grounds in Ethiopia

Most fishing activities in Ethiopia take place in fresh waters, such as rivers, lakes and ponds.
According to Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Department, Ethiopia’s fresh water bodies are
known to have 101 species of fish, among which four are endemic to the country. In general, the
Ethiopian fishing grounds could be classified as Lakes and Rivers

Lakes fishery: the Ethiopian lakes are estimated to cover a surface area of about 7000 km2. They
account about 79 percent of the total yearly fish production of the country. The most important
lakes where much of the fish production comes include Lakes Tana, Ziway, Langano, Hawassa,
Abaya and Chamo. The annual maximum sustainable fish yields of our lake are estimated to be
above 35,000 tons. However, presently only 4,000 tons are produced annually. Among the 101
species of fish available in the country 25 of them are commercial fish species and are found in

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the lakes. Generally, the lakes have high promising potential for the development of commercial
fish industry.

River Fishery: Most rivers of Ethiopia have high fish resources. Most fish production of the
river is confined to local consumption by villagers living near and around river banks. The
fishing potential of Ethiopian rivers has not yet been fully known. But according to some
references, the country’s rivers and streams can produce; on average about 7,000-10,000 tons of
fish annually. For example, river Baro alone can supply a maximum sustainable yield of 2,500
tons per year.

Table 8.2. Ethiopian water bodies and their fisheries

Water bodies type Extent Fishery potential (tone/year) Catch (tone/year)

Major lakes 6,477km2 23,342 10,598

Major reservoir and dams 857km2 4,399 1,366
2
Small water bodies 275km 1,952 303

Rivers 7,185km2 21,788 3,121

Total 14,794 km2 51,481 15,389

Source: Assefa, 2014

According to FishStat data, Tilapine species averaged about 50 percent, Catfish about 22 percent
and Nile Perch about 9 percent of total production over the last decade. There are seasonal
variations in the availability of different types of fish, but as there are some differences between
the lakes, traders can smooth out supply to some extent.

8.4.3. Demand and consumption of fish

Fish as a source of human food has a long history in Ethiopia. People consume large amount of
fish in fasting days, in big cities, around production areas and towns, especially in Hawassa,
Zeway, Arbaminch, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa.

Outside these areas, however, the domestic market for fish is small. The factors which account
for this low level of local fish consumption are the following.

 First, fish has not been integrated into the diet of most of the population.

 Second, because of religious influences on consumption patterns, the demand for fish is

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 only seasonal. The demand for fish is higher than supply during fasting seasons.

 The other factors that contribute to the low level of consumption are the limited supply of
the product and its high price.

 Long distance of the fish production sites from densely populated areas and major
settlements, together with its perishability reduce fish consumption levels

The demand for fish is showing an increasing trend. For instance, total demand for fish in 2003
was about 67 thousand tonnes, which is predicted to grow 118 thousand tonnes in 2025. The
rapid growth of population and the progressive shortage of livestock products had changed the
situation to a growing demand of fish.
Socio-economic contribution of the fishery sector
 Role of fisheries in the national economy: Despite the sector low contribution to the
Gross Domestic Product (0.1 percent), the fishery sector in Ethiopia plays an appreciated
role in terms of providing employment and income at the local level and contributing to
food supply at the national level.

 Trade: The Ethiopian cross-border fish trade is currently not properly documented.
However, available evidence from FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics,2015 has
documented that the country earned 0.4 million USD from exports and imports
significant amounts of fish from neighbouring countries amounted 3.8 million USD over
the recent period. The per capita fish food supply is around 300g, significantly below the
mean 2.6 kg per capita per year for the East African sub-region.

 Food security: Fisheries are regarded as an important sector in the effort to increase
animal protein consumption and achieve food security for the growing population.

 Employment: A considerable workforce is employed, both directly and indirectly, by

Ethiopia’s capture fisheries which also help in sustaining local communities. Whereas
4052 persons were employed directly by the sector in 2010, a total of 9,148 others
benefited from indirect employment offered by the sector.

 Fish meal as animal feed source: Fishmeal is an excellent source of protein for animals.
The offal of fish can be processed and used for animal feed. It has high levels of essential

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 amino acids such as methionine and lysine, and it also has a good balance of unsaturated
fatty acids. These days, there is an increased demand of fishmeal from poultry farmers.

 Sport fishing as a recreational value: Recreational fishing (sport fishing) is particularly

becoming common in southern part of Lake Tana. This activity has been started in the
country since 1970s.

8.4.4. Constraints and opportunities of the fishing sector

Like for most of Africa, Ethiopia is riddled with poverty, economic stagnation and
environmentally unsustainable practices, all of which pose serious constraints to fisheries
development. However, ample opportunities exist for the sector to help reverse national
development challenges by making a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, economic
growth, better nutrition and ecological improvement.

Factories, agriculture and sewage are the sources of major pollutants affecting Ethiopian water
bodies and their fisheries. The extraction of minerals from Lake Abijata could have negative
effect on fish stocks, just as the effluents from the tannery at Koka Reservoir and the textile
industries at Hawassa and Arba Minch can affect the fisheries. Also, the increasing rate of
deforestation could result in increased drying up of water bodies and increase in water turbidity.
Further, the dam on River Omo has negatively affected the anadromous fish which migrate from
Lake Turkana to spawn in the river.

Inadequate legal and policy frameworks have largely given rise to poor fishery resource
exploitation resulting, in some cases, in the overfishing of some important species, such as the
Nile perch in Lake Chamo, and tilapia in Lakes Hawassa and Ziway. Though there are fishery
laws and regulations currently in place, these legislations are inadequately implemented.

The sector also suffers from limited human resource availability, with an acute shortage of
trained personnel. This poses serious constraints on fishery management and technical and
extension support services.

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Public and private investment in fishery and aquaculture is low and the infrastructure inadequate.
There is also an urgent need to invest in modern value chain-based fish processing and marketing
infrastructure.

Local fish demand can be greatly increased with a change in the people’s food habit, in favour of
fish. Improvement in fishing techniques, technology transfer to fishers, training of fishery
management personnel, attraction of financial capital to the industry, fish value chain
improvement, and aquaculture, can all result to increased fish production, increased trade and
overall economic development of the country.

Attractive fish prices at local market for better profit; the presence of diversified fish species; and
inhabitants’ traditional knowledge for fisheries and good consumption habit are considered as
occasion for the sector escalation.

In addition, the future fishing villages’ offers homogeneous and less dispersed pastoral
communities which are ideal for social mobilization for poverty alleviation programs. Reservoir
fisheries require minimal initial investment and provides quick returns compared to other
economic activities. Access to microfinance facilities, which have received strong internal and
external support, will therefore promote rapid development of fisheries, especially for the benefit
of women and youth. It does not also require sophisticated skills and knowledge for the entry and
coping up with operation at small scale level. Absence of social and culture taboo in fish
consumption is also another asset for fish production in Ethiopia.

Review Questions

1. State the most important socio-economic importance of fishery sector.

2. Mention the factors which account for the low level of local fish consumption in Ethiopia.

8.5. Agriculture in Ethiopia

8.5.1. Introduction

Agriculture is defined as the purposeful tending of animals and plants. It is one of man’s oldest
activities, and dates back to the Neolithic period (10,000 years before present). Even today,

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agriculture remains an important economic activity accounting for more than 15 percent of the
earth's cultivable land. Similarly, about 60 percent of the world's population gets its livelihood
from agriculture.

The type of agriculture practiced in any area is influenced by physical and socio-economic
factors. The environmental factors like soil; climate, relief, etc. impose certain limitations on the
types of crops that may be cultivated and the type of livestock that may be reared. However, in
addition to such environmental factors, various socio-economic factors like farm size, type of
land tenure, capital availability, transport and marketing facilities, price, government polices, etc.
also influence farming patterns.

Agriculture is important for a number of reasons. It provides: basic food supplies for the
population; raw materials like cotton, sugar cane, oil seeds, etc. to industries; export crops, from
whose sales industries infrastructure and the like may be established; and employment for the
population.

The great majority of the Ethiopian population resides in rural areas engaged in some form of
agricultural activity. Agriculture is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy and therefore this
particular sector determines the growth of all the other sectors and, consequently, the whole
national economy. Despite a long history of agricultural practices in Ethiopian, the sector is still
very backward. Farming methods and techniques have hardly changed in the last 2000 years.
The sector is dominated by small-scale farmers that practice rain-fed mixed farming by
employing traditional technology, adopting a low input and low output production system. It is
also in this sector that the over whelming majority of the poor reside.

Therefore, in this section emphasis is given to explain to the agriculture systems of Ethiopia
including its role, structure and performance, farming type and the major challenges of the
sector.

8.5.2. Contributions, potentials and characteristics of agriculture in Ethiopia

The contributions of agriculture in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian economy is an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the backbone of the

economy of the country as the following facts indicate.

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  Agriculture accounts for most of (30- 42%)t of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
of the country.

 Agricultural products account for more than 90 percent of the foreign exchange
earnings of the country.

 Agriculture provides raw materials for the processing industries

 More than 80 percent of the Ethiopian population derives its livelihood directly from
agriculture.

The Agricultural Resource Base/potentials of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has abundant agricultural resource base due to its varied agro-ecological zones. The
varied climatic conditions and contrasts in elevation allow for the cultivation of various crops
ranging from cool weather crops to sub-tropical and warm weather crops. The country has no
less than 21soil types with varying physical and chemical features, and in the alluvial beds of
major rivers close to 16 percent of the country's area is suitable for irrigated agriculture. The
country has also vast grazing land and livestock population as the country possesses a huge but
largely unutilized potentials of livestock resources with a vast (55 – 58 % of its total land area)
grazing land. The country has extensive livestock population, with estimated 30 – 35 million
livestock units (TLU) standing first in Africa and 10th in the world and numerous livestock
species.

Land Use

Ethiopia has a total land area of about 113,000,000 hectares. There is no comprehensive survey
of land use pattern in the country but some estimates suggest that about 12.6million hectares,
10.3% of the total area, is intensively cultivated, and a further 15.3million hectares (12.5%) is
moderately cultivated. High forest and wood land areas account for 6.9%, while grassland for
30.5% of the total area.

Accepting the estimate that 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.
More importantly, new land that can be brought under cultivation may be offset or even

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outstripped by land which needs to be withdrawn from cultivation because it is severely eroded
or degraded.

It is often suggested that the size of additional land that can be brought under rain-fed
cultivation is limited to the 100km wide strip of land stretching from Gambella, bordering
Sudan to Humera in the north. But this claim must be taken cautiously since the tropical rain
forests in the western parts of the country are highly fragile and incapable of supporting
permanent cultivation. It also requires heavy investment in infrastructure and machinery to
cultivate the land while animal husbandry is affected by trypansomasis.

Expansion into much of the non-arable lowland areas is constrained by moisture stress. But
these areas are drained by major river basins and are suitable for irrigation. It is estimated that
the major river basins of the country can irrigate about 3.5 million-hectare of land. At present
only about 161,010 ha or 4.6% is irrigated around the major river basins. Besides opening up
new land for cultivation, irrigation allows to cultivate two or three crops each year instead of a
single crop most common under dry farming. It also enables farmers to grow high value crops,
especially fruits and vegetables. Nonetheless, the amount of investment required to expand
irrigated agriculture around the major basins is often considerable.

Agricultural Land Use in Ethiopia

Land resource is 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. Thus, 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, and also adds to the social status.
Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under
permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary
crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture,
land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land under permanent crops
is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after

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each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering
shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber.
Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated
crops.

According to the result from 2016 Agricultural Sample Survey conducted by Ethiopian Central
Statistics Agency (CSA) more than 19 million hectares of land was used in different types of
land use by smallholder farmers during the major season of the survey year.

The percent distribution of the land use by different types of land uses is shown in Fig 8.1.
Accordingly, about 77 percent of the land operated by smallholder farmers was allocated to
crops, both temporary and permanent crops while 11.5% of the land used for grazing land.

Figure 8.1.Percentage distribution land utilization, main season 2016/17

Cropping seasons in Ethiopia

The two main crop seasons in Ethiopia are the belg and meher seasons which receive rainfall
from February to June and from June to October, respectively. belg crop season is officially
defined as any crop harvested between March and August, while the meher crop season is
defined as any crop harvested between September and February. The meher crop season is the
main season and produces 90-95 percent of the nation’s total cereals output, and the belg harvest
provides the remaining 5-10 percent of cereal output.

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Cropping Pattern in Ethiopia

The highlands of Ethiopia are easily distinguishable from their lowland counter parts as far as the
pattern of agricultural land use is concerned. The highlands do not only produce a variety of
crops due to their improved environmental conditions as well as due to the variety of agro-
ecological zones caused by altitudinal variations, but they also practice an elaborate system of
land preparation and crop rotation.

The number of crops grown decreases as one moves from the central highlands to the peripheral
lowlands. The highlands are, thus, more diversified than the lowlands. Cereals (teff, wheat,
barley, maize, sorghum, etc,) are the most important crops in Ethiopia as indicated in the Table
8.4.

Table 8.3: Estimates of Agricultural Production and Cultivated Areas of Major Grain
Crops for Private Peasant Holdings-Meher Season

2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Agricultural Cultiva Total Cultivat Total Cultivat Total Cultivat Total
Production ted Producti ed Producti ed Producti ed Producti
Area* on Area* on Area* on Area* on
Cereals 10,144 236,077 9,974 231,288 10,219 253,847 10,232 267,789
(Annual %
3 9.4 -1.7 -2 2.5 9.8 0.1 5.5
Change)
Pulses 1,558 26,718 1,653 27,693 1,550 28,146 1,598 29,785
(Annual %
-10.6 -6.5 6.1 3.6 -6.2 1.6 3.1 5.8
Change)
Oilseeds 856 7,601 859.1 7,848.10 805 8,392 846 8,550
(Annual %
4.9 6.9 0.4 3.3 -6.3 6.9 5.1 1.9
Change)
Total 12,558 270,396 12,486 266,829 12,574 290,386 12,676 306,124
(Annual
1.2 7.5 -0.6 -1.3 0.7 8.8 0.8 5.4
%Change)
Source: National Bank of Ethiopia, 2017/18
*Area in thousands of Hectares and Production in thousands of quintals

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Animal Husbandry

Ethiopia has a large livestock population (1st in Africa). The distribution of livestock production
in terms of agro-ecological zones and administrative regions is very uneven. About 75% of the
cattle and sheep population are found in the highland zone while 70 percent of the goat and
100% of the camel population are found in the lowlands. More than 90% of the livestock
population is found in Oromia, Amhara and SNNPR. The average number of cattle per
household (per capital holdings) 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 and 13-16% to overall GDP. These figures are
considered as an underestimate since they do not consider the value of manure (fertilizer, fuel)
and transport. The livestock sector contributes about 13% of the total value of agricultural
export. The contribution of hides and skins from the livestock exports is the highest (more than
95%).

Despite a large livestock population, the contribution of the livestock sector to the national
economy is limited due to primitive methods of livestock breading, cultural attitudes, higher
mortality rates of livestock due to disease and other causes.

Characteristics of Ethiopian Agriculture

Even though there are some variations in the nature of practices and production endeavors of
farmers based on agro-ecological diversities and socio-cultural characteristics from place to
place, nevertheless agriculture in Ethiopia also possess some basic and general characteristics.
These basic attributes are:

1. Subsistence Orientation
In Ethiopia peasants produce mainly for their own household consumption and only a limited
proportion is meant for the market. It is found that peasants retain up to 80% of their produce for
home consumption and seeds. Similarly, Ethiopian peasants usually cultivate different types of
corps (10-15) and rear different types of livestock to meet their various needs.
2. Fragmentation of farm plots and Small size of Holdings

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Because of the ever-increasing population that gave rise to continuous generational division of
land through generations; terrain irregularities and prolonged degradation, holdings are highly
fragmented in Ethiopia. The average number of plots per household ranges mainly from 3-8. The
vast majority of the farming households possess less than one hectare of land, with the average
land holding dropping to 0.28 ha/household nowadays.

2. Low Use of Inputs

Ethiopian agriculture is characterized by low use of natural and chemical fertilizers. Less
than 60 percent of smallholder farmers used commercial, chemical fertilizers while only 10
percent used organic fertilizers in 2016. Thus, only a small proportion of the cropland is
fertilized.

4. Susceptibility to Disasters

Agriculture is Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as drought which affects the
lives of millions of humans and animals. The incidence and intensity of disasters has been
increasing. Limited soil conservation measures, forest destruction and expansion of agriculture
into marginal areas increased the frequency of drought. The natural disasters have usually
resulted in famines.

5. Limited practice of irrigation and dependence on rainfed agriculture

Although Ethiopia has vast area of irrigable land, the proportion of cultivated land is so small
due to physical (steep slopes and deep gorges, water logging, salinization and siltation….) and
human (e.g. capital, technology, skilled manpower etc) constraints. Therefore, there is great
dependence on rain-fed agriculture which renders it highly vulnerable to climatic changes. Over
98 percent of the Ethiopian farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture. Besides, the possibilities of
expanding agricultural land under rain- fed practices are limited or are not very high. Additional
land that can be brought under rain fed is found in the area stretching from Gambella to Humerra
for some 100 kilometres of width occupying the western lowlands of the country. Moreover, this
area is drained by major rivers (Baro, Abbay & Tekkeze Rivers) and is potentially suitable for
irrigation.

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8.5.3. Agriculture Systems in Ethiopia

Agricultural system is defined in terms of similar resource basis, enterprise patterns, household
livelihood and constraint; and thus, could have similar development strategies and interventions.
Thus, an agricultural system is a practice and a way of life carried by rural people who are
confined to relatively similar agro-physical resource basis and share more related socio-cultural,
economic and livelihood structures and patterns.

Ethiopia has contrasted (diverse) climatic and soil types which created an ideal condition for the
cultivation of different corps and rearing of animals. The farmers have developed complex
farming systems and cropping patterns in response to the diversified physical environment.

The agricultural systems of Ethiopia can be classified based on:

 The Agro-ecological patterns to which the practices have been confined.

 Dominant types of crops or animals reared or combinations.
 Farming methods and tools used for cultivation, which are a reflection of topographic
and climatic influence.
 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
The highland areas of over 1500m.a.s.1 are characterized by ‘dega’ and ‘woina dega’ agro-
ecological zones. The major characteristic feature of the farming activity is the integration of
crop and livestock production. Sub components of the system include:

A. Grain-plough complex

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It is practiced in the central and northern parts of the country. Farmers mainly depend on cereals
for subsistence which are grown along with pulses and oil corps for some commercial purposes.
Barley and wheat dominate in the grain-plough complex of Arsi and Bale, while ‘teff’ is the
most important crop in the central and northern highlands of Shoa and Gojjam. Harvesting is
done using family labor or contributed labor from neighborhoods. Crop cultivation is mainly
based on crop rotation. The plough is the main agricultural implement; and oxen are principal
means of draft power and equines provide the means of transport.

Ploughing is practiced many times (2-6) before planting. Seeds are mainly broadcast on the soil
surface and then ploughed in. Livestock rearing is based on unimproved native pasture
supplemented by crop residues.

Sustainable agriculture in this system is adversely affected by drought, soil degradation and the
practice of removing crop residues for feeding animals and using animal dung for fuel. Since
little or no organic matter is added to the soil and conservation-based farming practices (e.g.
terracing…) are rare, declining soil fertility necessitates shifts in crop pattern and increased
application of fertilizer to obtain high yields.

B. The Horticulture-Hoe complex

This agricultural system is primarily found in the high rainfall humid regions of southern and
southwestern parts of the country. The land is cultivated with hoe (human power) for
horticultural crops. The major crops grown include ‘enset’ (false banana), coffee, chat and
various other horticultural corps. In the ‘enset’ growing areas, farmers make intensive use of
dung. Horticulture crops such as sweet potatoes/sugar beet, lemon, banana, mango, and avocados
are widely grown. In some areas draft animals are also used and cereals, pulses are cultivated.
Maize is the major cereal crop of the region grown; and production is favorable and less variable
than in the grain-plough complex. In large parts of the Horticulture – hoe complex areas an Agro
– forestry farming system using multiple cropping methods composed of coffee, Chat, Enset,
with some tree plants consisting both wood and fruit- trees which are grown inter – mixed on
small farm plots. The eastern highlands of Hararghe are also classified as part of the horticulture-
hoe complex and sorghum (staple food crop) is often intercropped with corps such as chat and
sweet potatoes.

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Livestock, mostly cattle, form an integral part of the horticulture hoe system. With increasing
population pressure and farmland scarcity, stall-feeding has become a common practice.
However, in more humid areas, pests and diseases (e.g. tsetse fly) have threatened livestock
husbandry.

2. Lowland mixed agriculture

Lowland agriculture is practiced in the mountain foothills and the lower valleys below
1500m.a.s.1. The region is characterized by hot and dry conditions (450-800mm of rainfall) and
shallow soils with poor water retention.

Lowland agriculture is 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. The plough is used in the
cultivation.

As a response to the shortage and variability of rainfall, farmers diversify their cropping patterns
by growing several crop varieties; shifting to early maturing crop varieties; and drought tolerant
ones. In times of serious drought livestock are relied up on for survival. Other sources of income
include sale of firewood and charcoal and off-farm employment opportunities.

3. Pastoral complex
This type of agriculture is practiced in the arid and semiarid lowlands of Ethiopia where average
annual rainfall is less than 500mm by nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Afar, Somali and
Borena zone of Oromia and lowlands of the Southern Region of southern Omo and Lake
Turkana area. Livestock rearing is the main economic activity in these sparsely populated dry
and vast areas. Cattle, camels, sheep and goats are important animals forming the livelihood of
the population. In some lowlands, crops are produced along flood plains and river banks.

Almost all the camels, about ¾ of the goats, ¼ of the sheep and about 20% of the cattle are raised
by pastoral communities. About 90% of the live animals exported come from pastoral areas.

A major constraint to animal husbandry in the pastoral areas is shortage of water especially
during the long dry season. Overgrazing has also reduced the quantity, quality, accessibility and
stability of the resource base. Tropical livestock diseases are also major predicaments to the

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system. Encroachments by highlanders searching for farmland; and a shift to dry land cultivation
by the nomads themselves have restrained grazing opportunities. Range ecosystems are usually
fragile because of lower fertility and shallow top soil.

4. Shifting cultivation
This is the cut-and- burn cultivation system whereby a given plot of land is cultivated after
clearing until its natural fertility is exhausted to a level it cannot support plant life any longer and
then abandoned for another clearing. In Ethiopia shifting cultivation is 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 where population density is low and
livestock rearing is limited in some areas due to tsetsefly infestation (trypanosomiasis). The scale
of shifting cultivation in terms size of people living by the practice is presently on decline in the
country, due to government intervention and settlement (villagization) programs, and the
subsequent introduction and sorting the community to sedentary farming.

5. Commercial agriculture
Commercial agriculture is a modern farming practice involving the production of crops or animal
products for market by using some degree of mechanization and hired laborers.
It was introduced in the 1960s when the government decided to produce more commercial corps
to meet the growing demand for food in the urban areas and agricultural raw materials for
industries. Mechanized farms were concentrated in the Awash valley, Arsi, southern Shoa, and
Humera-Metema by the time many of which were nationalized (1975) and converted into state
farms. New coffee and tea farms were also created during the Dergue. The incumbent
government also introduced large-scale sugarcane plantations for the sugar industries.

Currently, the economic reform permitted the participation of the private sector in large scale
commercial farming. Investment permits are issued by the Ethiopian investment authority and
regional investment offices. However, the main problem faced by investors in agriculture is
access to land as it has to be free of other users to be leased to an investor by the regional
government. As a result investors need to go to low, hot, disease ridden areas of the south and
west to find ‘unoccupied’ land. Lack of infrastructure is also a major barrier to the profit –
motivated commercial farmers. There have been also conflicts with local inhabitants who claim

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that the land belongs to them that call for sound conflict resolution mechanisms and enhancing
livelihood conditions of local communities.

8.5.4. Major problems of Ethiopian agriculture

The Ethiopian agriculture has been 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. The major obstacles to the development of this sector include:

Land degradation: because of the rugged topography, about half of the cultivable land of
Ethiopia is exposed to various level of soil erosion. The soil in many areas has lost some
biological productivity and physical properties needed for optimal plant growth.

Variable rainfall: Ethiopian agriculture is heavily dependent upon unreliable rainfall which may
produce surplus only in years of favorable weather. The rain sometimes comes early or late; and
at other times it falls short of the required number of falls

Land fragmentation: The increasing population size of rural Ethiopia and the limited total land
area, especially, in the high land farming area has been the cause for declining percapita
landholding. Studies suggest that on the average, small land holding is less than 1 hectare per
household. As the land is too small to produce any marketable surplus under the prevailing
conditions, subsistence and survival are the overriding concern of the farmers. This resulted in
lack of cash for investment, purchase of commercial inputs and purchase of oxen for land
preparation.

Land tenure insecurity: Uncertainty about the possible communalization of land and continuing
land redistribution erodes the incentive to invest in permanent conservation and improvement on
individual holdings. Land remains under the state control in EPDRF. And, land is the collective
property of the Ethiopian people and is not subject to buying and selling deal.

Backward technology: In Ethiopia the smallholder farming is characterized by 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; and
threshing is also carried out by animals trampling the harvested crop. Moreover, agricultural
produce in transported by primitive means like pack animals and human percentage. Low

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application of modern inputs fertilizer pesticides, and improved seeds) poor animal breeds etc.
also characterize the Ethiopian small holder farming.

Poor rural infrastructure: transport and communication systems area poorly developed.
Agricultural output is usually carried long distance by traditional transport means like pack
animals or by humans, to sale place. The poor infrastructure has severely hampered
socioeconomic development particularly in the rural area.

Other problems that constrain Ethiopian agriculture include, overgrazing, nutrition stress and
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; and capital constraints of peasants required for investment
in their farms among others

Review Questions

1. State the agricultural resource base of Ethiopia

2. List down the major farming systems of Ethiopia.
3. List the most important contributions of the agricultural sector in Ethiopia.
4. What are the major constraints facing small-scale farmers in earning their livelihood?

8.6. Manufacturing Industry in Ethiopia

8.6.1. Introduction

Industrial development in Ethiopia is extremely backward. The contribution of the industrial

sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over recent periods is only 11.7 percent. The
backwardness of the industrial sector is an indication of the low-level development of the
Ethiopian economy. In the modern world development is equated with industrialization.

Manufacturing is a process of changing commodities to consumable forms. In this process there

is an addition of value. In other words, the value of commodities is more after the undergone
manufacturing. Manufacturing is, therefore, a higher-level economic activity than the production
of primary materials.

Employment in Industries

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 The total number of persons employed by various manufacturing industries was reported as over
329,000 in 2015/16 (Figure 8.2). This represents a continually increasing trend in the number of
employees working in all industries over the last five years. But there is as yet no clear pattern to
the availability of jobs by industrial group. Textiles and garments increased from 2011/2012 to
2013/2014, but then declined. The number of persons engaged in machinery and equipment grew
tremendously from 2012/2013 to 2013/2014, but then contracted just as rapidly to 2014/2015.

Figure 8.2: Number of persons employed by major industrial Group-Public and private (2011/12-
2015/16)

The employment distribution of the different firm size within the manufacturing sector indicated
that micro enterprises employ 138,951 (51%); small enterprises employ 10,960 (3.9%); medium
enterprises employ 14, 757 (5.4%) and large enterprises employ 108,226 (39.7%) in 2007/08
alone.

The value of industrial production

Gross value of production by manufacturing sector worth about 113 billion Birr in 2012/13 and
value added generated is estimated to reach 32 billion Birr in the same year, which was about 4%
of the value addition to the entire economy in the same year. It was also indicated that, the largest
value addition came from the food and beverage subsector, which was around 8 billion birr in
2012/13, followed by non-metallic mineral subsector (4.3 billion Birr) and metal and engineering
subsector (3.9 billion Birr) while the smallest contribution came from textile and apparel industry
(396 million Birr). The Ethiopian large and medium size manufacturing sector is dominated by

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food and beverages. It accounted for the largest proportion of the overall large and medium
manufacturing value added between 2000/01 and 2010/11.

8.6.2. Types and characteristics of manufacturing

Types of Manufacturing Industries

It is possible to identify two types of industries in Ethiopia. These are the traditional or cottage
industries and the modern manufacturing industries.

 The Cottage (traditional)industries

Cottage industries have a long-standing place in Ethiopian history. Though the time of their
inception is not clearly known, various kinds of weaving, woodcarving, pottery, metal works,
basketry etc. are known for a long time.

A peculiar feature of the cottage industries in Ethiopia is that they remain static; i.e., they
existed with little changes and refinement throughout their long period of existence. The major
factor for this phenomenon is the negative traditional attitudes towards such activities, which
prevailed among various Ethiopian communities. The activities were considered of low social
cast activities. People engaged in such activities were despised and were given various
pejoratives such as "buda" "faki" etc. The people were not encouraged to refine their products.
This is probably the most important factor in retarding the pace of development of the cottage
industries.

Other than the aforementioned factor other factors include the limited availability of the factors
of industrialization such as minerals, market, agricultural raw materials and sources of power,
which are the basis for industrial development.

 Manufacturing Industries
The development of manufacturing activities is measure of the development stage of countries.
In Ethiopia manufacturing industries are at a low level of development. Most of the
manufacturing industries are light industries i.e. industries that process consumer goods like
textiles, food, tobacco etc. Heavy industries that manufacture capital goods are very small.

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Industrial development in Ethiopia is extremely backward. The contribution of the industrial
sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is only 11.7 percent over the recent period
(Table.8.5). The major contribution to GDP of the country comes from agriculture and service
sector. Further, specifically looking at the performance of manufacturing remains a cause for
concern as its contribution to GDP not only remained low but also contracted slightly from
about 6% of GDP during 2000-04 to about 4% during the 2010-2014. Despite the attention
given to manufacturing in the GTP plans, the sector is not expanding as expected.

Table 8.4: Gross Domestic Product by Sector

Year Agriculture Industry Manufacturing Service

1980-84 55.8 9.6 4.7 34 .6

1985-89 52.8 10.7 4.9 36 .5
1990-94 59.5 8 4 .0 32.5
1995-99 53.6 11.7 6 .1 34 .6
2000-04 43.5 13.3 6 .1 43.2
2005-09 46.6 11.8 4.7 41.6
2010-14 44 .9 11.7 4 .0 43 .4
Average 51 11 4.9 38.1

Source: World Development Indicators (2015)

Note: The share of industry in GDP includes that of manufacturing.

The existing industrial establishments in Ethiopia are few in number and most of them lack
capital and have low productive and 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, manufacturing establishments have been concentrated in a few large towns. In

1995/96 the top ten towns accounted for about 85 per cent of the total number of establishments
and 79 per cent employment; where in the same year Addis Ababa alone accounted for about 67
per cent and 60 per cent respectively. This concentration has shown a modest decline and in
2009/10 the top ten towns share reached 60 percent and 62 per cent of the total number of
MLSM establishments and employment respectively. The share of Addis Ababa also

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correspondingly declined to 40 per cent and 46 per cent respectively in the same year. New
industrial towns such as Burayu, Sululta, Sebeta, Mojo, and Ambo are emerging around the
capital city. Four of these were among the top ten industrial towns in both 2003/04 and 2009/10.
This brings the concentration in Addis Ababa and the surrounding towns (in a 100 km radius),
for example in 2009/10, to above 48 per cent (number of establishments) and 52 per cent (in
terms of employment).

Some of the current regional capitals such as Hawassa in the south, Dire Dawa in the east,
Mekelle in the north, and Bahr Dar in the northwest are also among the top ten towns hosting a
substantial number of industrial establishments. The gap between the first and the next top-
ranking towns is, however, very large. For example, in 2009/10, the first top town (Addis Ababa)
hosted about eleven times more manufacturing establishments than the second largest industrial
concentration town (Hawassa).

Table 8.5: Geographical distribution of manufacturing enterprises

Top 10 towns share (%) Top 10 towns share (%) Top 10 towns share (%)
1995/96 2003/04 2009/10

Top 10 towns # of est. Employment Top 10 # of est. Employment Top 10 towns # of est. Employment
towns
Addis Ababa 67.2 60.4 Addis Ababa 55.8 53.6 Addis Ababa 40.3 45.9

Dire Dawa 4.0 7.0 Hawassa 3.3 2.8 Hawassa 3.6 2.5
Bahr Dar 2.6 3.3 Mekelle 3.0 1.7 Dire Dawa 2.8 1.9

Awassa 2.4 3.2 Bahr Dar 2.3 2.6 Mekelle 2.8 1.9
Adama* 2.3 1.5 Burayu* 2.2 1.4 Adama* 2.4 3.1
Jimma 1.9 0.4 Dire Dawa 2.2 3.9 Bahr Dar 2.3 1.4
Mekelle 1.6 0.3 Adama* 2.2 1.7 Bisheftu* 1.7 2.5
Besheftu* 1.1 1.2 Besheftu * 1.9 2.8 Sebeta* 1.7 1.5
Harar 1.1 1.3 Sebeta* 1.7 1.7 Burayu* 1.6 1.3
Dessie 1.0 0.3 Dessie 1.5 0.4 Hosana 1.1 0.3
Top 10 towns 85.2 79.1 76.3 72.6 60.5 62
Sum (%)
Total 622 91,096 982 104,681 2,172 186,978

Source: Mulu Gebreeyesus, 2016Note: (*) Indicates towns fewer than 100 km from Addis Ababa.

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Looking at the current spatial distribution of industries similar trends is observed over the recent
period where industrial distribution and activities concentrate in specific regions. The total
number of large and medium scale manufacturing industries reported in 2015/16 was 3,596.
About 37 percent of the manufacturing industries were located in Addis Ababa followed by
Oromia with more than 27 percent and Tigray with about 14 percent of the industries. Many of
the industries in Oromia are located around Addis Ababa.

There could be many reasons as to why industries concentrate in and around specific towns
and regions in the country. The agglomeration of industries in towns and specific regions
mentioned above is explained by the availability of infra-structural facilities. In the case of
the Addis Ababa-Adama industrial area, the Addis-Djibouti railway, proximity to the port
of Djibouti, and availability of social service facilities are important. The railway and the
development of infrastructure in the area explain the relatively higher concentration of
industries around DireDawa. Political decisions could also influence the spatial
distribution of manufacturing industries. The question of industrial location and regional
equity requires a complex planning activity involving correct location policies and resource
availability, each of which must be based on thorough and interdisciplinary examination.

Industrial parks/zones in Ethiopia

The agro-processing industries, leather products and the textile and apparel sectors have been
designated as top priority manufacturing industries in the latest five-year development plan
(2015 to 2020). The main reasons include:

i. strong linkages with the agricultural sector as they use inputs from the livestock and
cotton sectors,
ii. they are also both labour intensive, thus absorbing labor from the agricultural sector, and
iii. they have major export potential and low entry barriers. To unleash these supportive
industries, the government established industrial parks across the country to cluster these
industries
The development and construction of industrial parks started in 2014 when the Ethiopian
Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) was established. It gained momentum in 2015

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with the Industrial Parks proclamation 886/2015. Three mechanisms are in place for the
establishment of IPs/SEZs:

a. fully developed by the federal or regional government;

b. developed by PPPs with the IPDC and
c. by 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. (see the detail description on Table 8.6).
Table 8.6. Distribution of Industrial parks (IPs) and Zones in Ethiopia

No Name Location Main industry

Federal Development Park
1 Bole Lemi Industrial Park Addis Ababa Garment
2 Hawassa Industrial Park SNNPR Garment
3 Mekele Industrial Park Tigray Garment
4 Kombolcha Industrial Park Amhara Garment
5 Jima Industrial Park Oromia Garment
6 Adama Industrial Park Oromia Assembling, garment, food
7 Bole Lami Industrial Park II Addis Ababa Garment
8 Kilinto Industrial Park Addis Ababa Pharmaceutical, medical equipment
9 Dire Dawa Industrial park Dire Dawa Assembling, garment, food
10 Bahir Dar Industrial park Amhara Garment
11 Arerti Industrial Park Amhara Construction products, home appliance
12 Debre Birhan Industrial Park Amhara -
13 Aysha Industrial Park Somali -
14 Airline and logistics parks 4 Addis Ababa Transportation
15 Addis Industrial Village 5 Addis Ababa
16 Modjo Leather City Oromia Leather
Regionally Developed parks
1 Bure Integrated Agro-Industrial Park Amhara Agro-processing
2 Bulbula Integrated Agro-Industrial Park Oromia Agro-processing
3 Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park SNNPR Agro-processing
4 Baeker Integrated Agro-Industrial Park Tigray Agro-processing

Private parks
1 Eastern Industrial park Oromia Various

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 2 Huajian Light Industry City Addis Ababa Shoes, garment
3 Modjo George Shoe Industrial Park Oromia Leather
4 Kingdom Linen Industry Zone Dire Dawa Linen
Source: UNIDO, 2018 NB: some of the parks are under construction

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
 Eliciting 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 is one of the industries which contribute immensely for the industrial
transformation of our country. The country has huge labor and resources like water, suitable
climate and ideal landscape to expand this export-oriented manufacturing industry. Ethiopia has
favorable climate for sugarcane development. It also has more than 500 thousand hectares of
irrigable land suitable for the sector. Moreover, it has abundant untapped water resource. These
make the sector seek more attention and a coordinated effort

Until recently, Ethiopia has been a net importer of sugar as the two old sugar factories (Wonji
and Metehara) have limited capacity to meet domestic demand. Cognizant of the existing limited
capacity observed in the two factories, the government of Ethiopia is heavily investing in sugar
production. One of the targets of the first Growth and Transformation Program (GTP I) was to
expand the sugar sector with the ambition for Ethiopia to become one of the top ten sugar
exporters in the world. This plan involved the 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

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Ethiopia has adopted different policies for the development of industry over the past century.
The industrial policies have distinctive features when looking at the guiding vision (policy),
ownership structure, and market orientation. Broadly, they can be characterized as the import
substitution and private sector-led (from early 1950s to 1974); the import substitution and state-
led (from 1974 to 1991), and the export-orientated and private sector-led from 1991.

Challenges of the Manufacturing Sector

Ethiopian’s industrial base and economic development are the lowest even by African standard.
There are various constraints to the country’s industrial development. However, the potential for
industrial development is also enormous. The constraints and opportunities for industrial
development are indicated as follows:

Challenges and opportunities of industrial development in Ethiopia

Challenges Opportunities

Relatively cheap electricity charge in comparison to

High logistics and transportation cost other African countries

Limited research/study and action on export Macroeconomic stability and rapidly growing
incentives and market economy
Low labor productivity Relatively cheap labor force & increasing number of
trained employees
High cost of imported raw materials Access to wide market ( large domestic market,
COMESA, AGOA, EBA opportunities, China market
etc.)
Limited compliance to the international requirements Competitive incentive packages which include export
and market incentives

Underdeveloped rural infrastructure in the potential Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks (one stop shopping
areas for all the services, economies of scale, extension
services, development of common infrastructure)
Weak supply chain integration, market institutions Global attention due to its remarkable economic
and information system growth and credit worthiness
Low level of technology

Review Questions
1. What is manufacturing?
2. How important is manufacturing to the development of Ethiopia?

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 3. What are the major constrients of the development of the manufacturing sector in
Ethiopia?
4. How important are the industrial parks to the development of manufacturing
industries in Ethiopia?

8.7. The Service Sector in Ethiopia

8.7.1. Introduction

Tertiary economic activity involves the distribution and provision of goods and rendering
services. Tertiary institutions include wholesale and retail outlets, banking and other financial
services, governmental and educational services, medical facilities, and much other business and
service functions upon which we depend daily. Security services, transportation, information and
telecommunication services, tourism, health services, education institutions and research centers
all are vital tertiary economic activities. In this section, discussion will be made on the three of
the service activities in Ethiopia: transportation and communication, trade and tourism.

8.7.2. Transportation and communication in Ethiopia: types, roles and characteristics

8.7.2.1. Transportation
Transportation is a service or facility by which persons, manufactured goods, and property are
physically carried from one location to another. Transportation is fundamental to civilization.
Transportation, it is usually said, is the lifeline or the blood vessel of an economy. This is why
we invariably see a well-developed transportation network in well-developed economies.The
role of transportation in socio-economic development is that it allows for: division of labor and
labor specialization, procurement of raw materials from various sources, dispatch of goods to
market places and personal mobility etc.

There are five different types of transport in Ethiopia. These are:

a. Traditional Transport:

This includes the use of pack animals (donkeys, mules, horses, camel) and goods carried by
humans. The contribution of these means of transport to the national economy is not known in
statistical terms. In rural Ethiopia where modern transport systems are very few, it is obvious

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that they make immense contributions. Even in urban areas like Addis Ababa, modern meansof
transport has not totally done away with the traditional means.

b. Road Transport

Today most passengers and goods in Ethiopia are transported by road transport. In Ethiopia
road transportation is relatively a recent phenomenon. Italians basically started it during their
period of occupation. These roads were essentially built for military movement purposes. In
other words, they were not built for the purpose of economic integration of the country. Later
on, with Addis Ababa growing as the political center of the country, the roads built in
subsequent periods were constructed for administrative connections. The radial patterns of
network development with the center being Addis Ababa, exhibits administrative integration
rather than economic integration. This, however, does not mean that the roads were not used
for economic purposes.

i. Road Network
Data obtained from the Ethiopian Roads Authority showed that during 2004/05 classified road
network in Ethiopia was 37,018 km while the total road network increased rapidly and reached
126,773 km during 2017/18 (this includes 35,958 km rural road (28.3%). (seeTable 8.7)

Table 8.7: Length of all-Weather Roads by Type(2004-2017)

Federal Road
Year Rural road Total**
Asphalt Gravel
2004/05 4,972 13,640 18,406 37,018
2005/06 5,002 14,311 20,164 39,477
2006/07 5,452 14,628 22,349 42,429
2007/08 6,066 14,363 23,930 44,359
2008/09 6,938 14,234 25,640 46,812
2009/10 7,476 14,373 26,944 48,793
2010/11 8,295 14,136 30,712 53,997
2011/12 9,875 14,675 31,550 63,083
2012/13 11,301 14,455 32,582 85,966
2013/14 12,640 14,217 33,609 99,522
2014/15 13,551 14,055 30,641 110,414
2015/16 14,632 13,400 31,620 113,066
2016/17 15,886 12,813 33,367 120,171
2017/18 15,886 12,813 35,985 126,773
Source: National Bank of Ethiopia,2017/1

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 ii. Road Density

The rugged terrain in Ethiopia makes road construction difficult and expensive. If we compare
the length of roads to the total area of the country, we observe that it serves a small area. One-
km road serves an area of about 66 km2. If we generously assume a distance 10 kms on either
side of a road as being accessible only about 370, 000, km2 area or 30 percent of the country is
accessible. In many cases roads assume the purpose of connecting nodes or places forgetting the
people and the economy in the hinterland or in between the nods. The road density/1000 persons
was 0.5 in 2004/5 that increased to 1.27 in 2017/18. Likewise the road density/1000square
kilometer was 33.7 in 2004/5 that improved in a way to 115.2 in 2017/18.
Although the road network has shown an increasing trend, the progress so far is still far below
the need compared to the large land area and population of the country. Network distribution per
thousand sq. km and per million people is only 115.2 km and 1.3 km, respectively. This makes
the country one of the least accessible in Sub-Sahara Africa.

iii. Road accessibility

In 2016/17, annual average distance from all-weather roads declined by 6.5 percent from 4.6 km
in 2015/16 to 4.6 km. Similarly, the proportion of area more than 5 km from all-weather roads
dropped to 33.5 percent from 31.6 percent last year. By 2019/20, it is envisaged to narrow the
proportion of area more than 5 Km from all-weather road to 13.5 percent (Table 8.10).

c. Railway

The major advantage of rail transport is that it helps transport bulky products. For more than a
century, Ethiopia was served by an international meter gauge railway, from Addis Ababa
to Djibouti City in Djibouti. The railway was built from 1897–1917 and was about 781 km
long primarily served to move export- imports for a long time. Compared to those of the
developed countries the railway was backward. It was also a single lane track. Eventually the
Ethio-Djibouti Railway and its decades old rolling stock was lacking spare parts and
forced to closed down over a number of years.

Recently a new railway line of 750 km length connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti, was officially
inaugurated in Djibouti in 2018. The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway is a new standard gauge
international railway that serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway

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Network. It 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.

The other important railway is Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit. It is the first light rail and rapid
transit in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa. The total length of both lines (north-south and east-
west) of the rail is 31.6 kilometres (19.6 mi), with 39 stations. The rail project was constructed
by China Railway Engineering Corporation Limited (CREC) and is currently operated by
Chinese firm Shenzhen Metro Group Company. It is estimated that AALRT currently transports
about 60,000 people daily, significantly reducing traffic congestion in the capital, Addis Ababa.

d. Waterways
Waterways are two types. These are seaways and inland waterways. When we talk of seaways
we are talking about 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 are classified in to two i.e., rivers and lakes.
Because of the nature of the topography over which Ethiopian rivers flow, Ethiopian rivers
with the exception of Baro and Omo in their lower courses, cannot be used for transportation.
On some of the lakes like Tana and Abaya there is small-scale transportation. The contribution
of inland waterways to the Ethiopian economy is very small.

e. Airways
The other transportation mode, fairly recent in appearance and modern in its constitution, is air
transport. Air transport is the fastest means of transportation from one place to the other. It has
reduced distances by minimizing the travel time. It is very essential for a country like Ethiopia,
where the topography is difficult for communication. There is no problem of laying the track for
airways. The problem with air transportation is that they are expensive and cannot be used for
transporting bulky products. EAL serve some forty-five cities and towns in the country. The
reputed Ethiopian Airlines also gives impressive international service.

8.7.2.2. Communications

Communication is the process of conveying messages to others. An effective communication

system plays a vital role to: accelerate the pace of development, enhance closer social

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integration, and to promote the basic aim of economic activities. Some of the communication
services that are commonly used in Ethiopia include radio, television, internet, satellite, print
publications, fixed and mobile telephones, and post offices. Microwave radio; open-wire; HF,
VHF, UHF radio communication services; and satellite contribute to the domestic telecom-
munications system.

The Contribution of Transportation and communication to Socio-Economic Development

The contribution of transportation to a country’s development is high. Its share of contribution

to the GDP of a country is incontrovertible, though the nature and extent of the contribution
varies from country to country. Transportation plays important economic, social and political
roles some of which are indicated hereunder:

 It creates job opportunity

 It promotes investment sector - on infrastructure development.
 Transportation plays a big role for both national and international trade.
 It serves as a source of income generation both for governments and the public;
 It contributes to the maintaining a country’s peace, political wellbeing and stability;
 Plays the role of linking rural areas and rural products to urban centers and helps in
increasing and interconnecting market outlets;
 Makes big contribution to the development of tourism, entertainment, sports and peaceful
relationship among people.
Although the expansion of the transport sector is of tremendous economic, social and political
benefit, there are nevertheless some negative aspects to it. The fact that its energy consumption is
high, that it is foremost among the factors that contribute to environmental pollution, that it has
been classified among the world's killer diseases with regard to traffic accidents, and that it
has become a source of anxiety in terms of congestion constitute the negative side of the
transport sector.

8.7.3. Trade in Ethiopia

Trade is a process of exchange of products involving change in ownership of commodities. The

development of trade in a country depends on the development of production activities. Trade

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basically arises when regions or persons complement one another with their products. A country
carries out two types of trade. These are internal trade and external trade.

Internal trade: This refers to the exchange of goods and services within the country. It can be
done between regions or within a region.

External Trade: External trade refers to the exchange conducted between countries. In other
words, it is concerned with import-export trade.

Foreign Trade
The main reason that necessitates trade with one another rather than running completely
independent economies is that, the earth’s resources are not equally distributed across its surface.
That means different countries have different factor endowments, and the international mobility
of these factors is severely limited. Some countries are rich in capital resources, others are rich in
labor resources, and still others are rich in natural resources. Hence, every country must trade
with others to acquire what it lacks.

Structure of Commodity Export of Ethiopia

As the Ethiopian economy is an agrarian economy its merchandise (visible) export is determined
by agricultural products. According to the data from National Bank of Ethiopia/NBE/, for all
study periods the export structure of Ethiopia has been characterized by greater concentration of
few traditional exports such as coffee, oil seeds, and pulses and chat. Coffee dominates the total
merchandise export item of the country and accounts for 29.5% of visible export earnings.
Oilseeds accounting for 14.9 % take the second position followed by pulses 9.5 %, and chat 9.5
% (Table 8.9).

Table 8.9: The share of export items in the total merchandise export value

Particulars 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

%share %share %share
Coffee 25.2 30.4 29.5
Oilseeds 16.6 12.1 14.9
Leather and Leather products 4 3.9 4.7
Pulses 8.1 9.6 9.5
Meat & Meat Products 3.4 3.4 3.6

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 Fruits & Vegetables 1.9 1.9 2.2
Live Animals 5.2 2.3 2.2
Chat 9.2 9.4 9.3
Gold 10.1 7.2 3.5
Flower 7.9 7.5 8
Electricity 1.1 2.5 3
Others 7.4 9.7 9.7
Total Export 100 100 100
Source: National Bank of Ethiopia, 2018

The Geographic Structure of Exports

Alike the commodity structure, the country’s exports has been concentrated geographically with
largest proportion of exports destined to limited markets. The major export destinations for
Ethiopian goods show that Asia accounted for 39.8 % of Ethiopia’s export earnings followed by
Europe (28.7%). On the other hand, about 20.9 % of Ethiopia’s export earnings originated from
markets in Africa. (Figure 8.3)

Figure 8.3.Export by destination, 2017/18

0.80

20.90
39.80

28.70

9.90

Africa Europe USA Asia Oceanina

Source: Author Compilation

Looking at the direction of trade by individual country, five countries (China, USA, Netherlands,
Saudi Arabia and Djibouti) are important which account for 39% of the Ethiopia’s export
between in 2015/2016.

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With regard to imports of goods, during 2017/18, Asia accounted for 64.2 percent of the total
imports of Ethiopia followed by Europe (19.3 %).Ethiopia’s total imports with the U.S.A
accounted for 9.4 percent of the total import bill. About 51% of Ethiopian’s merchandise import
originated from china, U.S.A, Japan, Italy, and USA (Figure 8.4).

Figure 8.4.Import by Origin% 2017/18

Yugoslavia
Djibouti
Kenya
Russia
Sudan
U.K.
France
Netherlands
Germany
U.A.E
Saudi Arabia
Italy
Japan
U.S.A.
China, P. Rep.
Rest of the World
0.000 10.000 20.000 30.000 40.000 50.000

Source: Author compilation

8.7.4. Tourism in Ethiopia: Types, major tourist attraction sites, challenges and prospects

UNWTO (2002) defined tourism as

"Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places

outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business and other purposes. “

Tourism is one of the largest and most important industries in the world in terms of employment
creation and generation of foreign revenue. As a worldwide export category, tourism ranked
fourth in 2013, after fuels, chemicals, food, and ahead of automotive products

As one of the developing countries, Ethiopia and its tourism is becoming an important sector
contributing a great deal towards the social, cultural, and economic development aspects of the
country. Though tourism development is still unsatisfactory, international tourist arrivals in

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Ethiopia have shown a considerable growth. Likewise, the contributions of tourism income to
GDP as well as export earnings are growing in recent years.

Types of Tourism

Ethiopia is endowed with unique landscape, paleontological, archaeological, historical and living
cultural tourism attractions. Based on these attractions diverse types of tourism are there in the
country. The common tourism forms in the country include living culture tourism, history
tourism, archaeology tourism, palaeontology tourism, park tourism, geo-tourism, agro-
biodiversity and coffee tourism, rural tourism, conference tourism and sport tourism are

Major Tourist attraction sites of Ethiopia

Historic Attraction sites

i. The Obelisk of Axum: preserves an ancient history of the era of the Axumite powerful
empire having trade links as far as India and China. Visitors will enjoy the sites of these
monolithic obelisks and many more wonders surrounding their history, notably the Bath
of the Legendary Queen of Sheba and archeological findings that depict the way of life of
the Axumite period that reigned from pre-Christ times up until the 11th century AD.
ii. The Churches of Lalibela- the UNESCO has named the rock-hewn churches of
Lalibela as the 8th wonders of the world. Lalibela presents the site of a chain of rock
carved out 11th century churches with astonishing architectural designs and interior
decorations. Ahistorical myth narrates King Lalibela; on his own (with the help of angels)
completed the construction of the churches. After his death the king has been designated
as an Ethiopian saint.
iii. The Castles of Gondar- built in the mid- 17th century together with the surrounding
centuries-old churches depict yet another sophisticated architectural wonders. The Castles
are found in the city of Gondar, which has been the seat of government following Axum
and Lalibela.
iv. The Walls of Harar- built in the early 16th century, the walls are designated after the city
of Harar. The Walls have 5 arched gates inviting to the city's popular basketworks,
variety of fruits and colourfully decorated costumes of Hararie women.The city of Harar
is considered as the 4th holy city of Islam.

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Natural Attraction sites

i. The Blue Nile Falls- locally known as Tississat, meaning 'water that smokes' presents
a spectacular water fall with an intense gash from more than forty-five meters
(150feet) peak, producing rainbows across the gorge. The area is also inhabited with
fascinating wild lives and birds.

ii. Simien Mountains- Simien mountains are home of Ethiopia's highest peak Ras
Dashen with the height of 4,620 meters above sea level. With the assistance of a
professional guide, the area is ideal for mountain trekking. The endemic Walia Ibex
and the Gelada baboon are also found here.

iii. The Rift Valley Lakes- Ethiopia is one of the countries that the Great Rift Valley
system traverses. The Valley embraces the beautiful chains of lakes with abundant
wildlife and variety of birds. The Rift Valley comprises famous natural parks known
as Abijatta-Shalla, Nechisar, Mago and Omo national parks. Each national park
presents a unique feature for bird-watching, trekking and wild life scenery.

iv. The National Parks: Being a land of diverse geographic settings and rich natural
resources, National Parks in Ethiopia, present spectacular visiting opportunities for
tourists that are keen on admiring and enjoying nature.

The Role of Tourism in the Economy of Ethiopia

The direct export earnings generated by tourism in Ethiopia are increasing, and tourism seems to
be the third source of export revenue after agriculture and industry.

International tourist arrivals have been on a growth trajectory since the 1990s rising from 64,000
in 1990 to 681,249 in 2013. This has been matched by growth in the contribution of the travel
and tourism sector’s direct contribution to the country’s GDP which in 2017 was 2.7%, and is
expected to grow by 6.7% per annum reaching 6.1% of GDP by 2028.

Further, the industry is now an important source of employment accounting for 2.4% of total
employment in 2017 representing 604,000 jobs directly and this is forecast to grow by 1.9% per

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annum in 2028 to 742,000 jobs (2.1% of total employment). Such performance has seen the
tourism industry increasingly becoming an important economic sector in the country.

Challenges of the sector to be addressed

Ethiopia’s possession of varied attractions is regarded as an opportunity for the sector. However,
at present, the following major challenges are also confronting the sector:

 Weak institutional framework and implementation capacity, skilled human resources and
financing
 Very limited accommodating capacity of international standards for leisure tourism, with
investment concentrated in main cities and business-type hotels
 Lack of basic and IT infrastructure present challenges for tourism businesses
 Narrow product range offered to the market by incoming operators
 Weak private sector associations
 Unplanned destination development
 Poor visitor management in natural and heritage sites puts sites at risk
 Poor tourism statistics

Ethiopia has a wealth of natural and cultural resources, with some unique cultural and natural
features that set it apart from other African destinations. Current international trends in world
markets present opportunities to diversify the product portfolio and attract more visitors, and
international markets were prioritized by the Marketing and Branding Strategy as being among
the ‘core’ markets with high revenue potential and high affinity for leisure travel to Ethiopia, as
well as among the ‘steady markets’ that are easier to penetrate.

Review Questions

 Identify main transportation systems of Ethiopia.

 Describe the contributions and challenges of transport to the Ethiopian economy
 What are the reasons for poor development of water transport in Ethiopia?
 List down tourist attraction sites recognized by UNISCO.
 Explain briefly the contributions and challenges of tourism in Ethiopia.

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