Infrastructure in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian infrastructure is traditionally better developed in the Tigray and Amhara regions as well as in the capital region of Addis Ababa than in the rather neglected wasteland-rich east.
technical infrastructure
The transport infrastructure is considered to be rather inadequate in international comparison, but attempts are being made to expand the network independently and with Chinese help.
Seaports
Ethiopia is a landlocked country without its own seaport. Before the Eritrea-Ethiopia war from 1998 to 2000, Ethiopia had carried out international trade mainly through the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massaua . Currently the port of Djibouti is used and, to a much lesser extent, the Port Sudan in Sudan . 87% of Ethiopia's import and export traffic and 97% of imports go through Djibouti. In 2016, an agreement was reached to use the port of Berbera in Somaliland in order to become less dependent on Djibouti. Berbera is said to take over up to 30% of foreign trade, but before that massive investment in infrastructure is required.
Roads and rails
In 2003, Ethiopia had a total of 33,856 kilometers of roads, which more than tripled to 113,213 kilometers by May 2016 due to a massive road construction program. In contrast, the proportion of asphalt roads in the total length of all roads was around one eighth in both years and thus remained largely constant. About 11% of new roads are added every year. Due to centuries of subsistence farming and isolation, the country has little focus on foreign trade and only to a limited extent on domestic trade and therefore had only a few roads for transport. For economic development, there is therefore a very high need for new construction and expansion in road construction, especially for all-weather roads, which will not be covered even with the high annual new construction efforts. In the two rainy seasons, many transport routes become impassable and people are often cut off from markets and medical facilities for weeks.
The route between Addis Ababa via Adama to the seaport of Djibouti is particularly important for foreign trade , although the section between Addis Ababa and Adama , which is also important for intra-Ethiopian traffic, is heavily frequented. Since August 2016, Ethiopia has had its first fully commissioned 85 km long motorway with three lanes in each direction from the cities of Addis Ababa via Modjo to Adama. There are six connection points between the two end points . A continuation over 203 km from Modjo along the East African rift valley south to Awassa is under construction.
There is a single, a total of 656 km standard gauge and continuously electrified railway line , which runs from Sebeta directly west of Addis Ababa via Adama and Awash to Dewele on the border with Djibouti. This railway line, officially opened at the end of 2016, serves as Ethiopia's economic lifeline to the container port of Djibouti City . Between Sebeta and Adama, the 115 km stretch is two-lane, otherwise single-lane. Also under construction (as of the end of 2016) are sections of a second railway line from northern Ethiopia from Mek'ele via Weldiya to Djibouti City. A connecting line between the two railway lines between Awash and Weldiya is also at an advanced stage of planning.
Airports
The country also has two international airports in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa , as well as another 80 airports and runways (as of 2005), 14 of which are paved. In particular, the cities relevant to tourism are equipped with airports or runways.
communication
The telecommunications sector in Ethiopia is controlled by the state provider Ethiopian Telecom and is heavily regulated. According to the World Bank , fewer than 4 percent of Ethiopians have a fixed line and only around 3 percent have broadband access. There are only about 30 cell phones per 100 inhabitants in Ethiopia, whereas in Rwanda there are over 60 and in Kenya 75 cell phones per 100 inhabitants.
However, the prices for telecommunications, especially for international calls, are very high. (You are around 15 birr per minute for a call to the Federal Republic of Germany ). Internet connections are sometimes very slow, so that they can hardly be used or only with a high degree of patience. In addition to the technical restrictions, the pronounced internet censorship in Ethiopia affects free access to content.
In the mobile network, there are roaming agreements with the operator E-Plus and Telekom. An Ethiopian SIM card costs around 370 Birr and can also be purchased by foreigners in hotels, telecommunications shops or directly from the Ethiopian Telecom on presentation of their own passport. Foreigners are only allowed to have a SIM card. The area code for Ethiopian mobile phone numbers consists of the digits 091 followed by another number that is different in each of the nine ethnically defined regions.
energy
Hydroelectric power is primarily used to generate electricity . In 2004, capacities of 750 MW were installed. With the Gilgel Gibe and Tekeze projects, additional capacities of 450 MW and 300 MW are under construction or in planning. In addition, a coal-fired power plant is being built by a Chinese consortium of companies. However, some Ethiopians are strictly against electricity as it is against their religion.
The country's electrification is progressing only gradually. Around 15 percent of the population are now connected to the power grid. There is still a potential of geothermal energy available. In cooperation with the German Society for Technical Cooperation ( GTZ ), the Ethiopian authorities are focusing on the expansion of hydropower, among other things.
Legal and social infrastructure
education
There are 6 universities and other colleges in Ethiopia with a total of 765,000 students (2002). In contrast, the overall level of education is very low and vocational training is a focus of German development cooperation . Officially, compulsory schooling applies in Ethiopia , but it is not consistently enforced. The illiteracy rate among those over the age of 15 is 59.7% (2001). Most people in Ethiopia are illiterate . 41% of children go to elementary school and 10% go to secondary school. This proportion is lower for girls than for boys.
health
Only 6 percent of all births in Ethiopia can receive medical care.
See also
literature
- UNCTAD (Ed.): An Investment Guide to Ethiopia - Opportunities and conditions. Geneva 2004.
Web links
- National Bank of Ethiopia: Annual Report August 2006
- http://www.state.gov
- Embassy of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia August 3, 2006
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ethiopia, Somaliland Sign Accord to Boost Use of Berbera Port ( English ) Bloomberg. April 4, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ↑ Ethiopia: What if they were really set free ?, in: The Economist, Jan 2nd 2016.
- ↑ The Reporter v. February 23, 2008, p. 9.
- ↑ http://www.geo-reisecommunity.de/reisebericht/12818/1/AEthiopien-Die-Diva-unter-den-Afrikanische-Laendern
- ↑ a b Human Development Report 2009: Ethiopia ( Memento of February 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
- ↑ Country database of the German Foundation for World Population "Ethiopia"; As of 2009