Fastest Growing Countries: Ethiopia

Fastest Growing Countries is a series devoted to examining several countries with rapidly expanding economies today, or that at least have the potential to do so. By examining the historical rise of these countries and how it is happening, we can hope to better understand the variety of ways that we might be able to enliven the economies of where we live, and work towards a more sustainable and profitable future for everyone.

If you wanted to know what the fastest growing country in the entire planet is, you might be surprised to find out it isn’t the manufacturing giant that is China, nor is any country in Europe or the Americas. Actually, the country that is experiencing the largest economic boom right now is Ethiopia, the second largest country in Africa. Here is some information about how Ethiopia has been on the climb over the past several years…

Emergence as an industrialized, democratized country

A huge part of the reason that Ethiopia has been able to make such a huge climb in such a short period of time has been the fact that the country has shifted from more of an egalitarian autocracy to more of a liberalized democracy that embraces privatization of multiple sectors that used to be ran by a relatively corrupt government. In 2013 and 2014, Ethiopia was able to experience average growth rates of nearly 11%, as far as their nominal GDP growth was concerned. This makes Ethiopia one of the first landlocked nations in Africa to develop a more liberalized economy

Huge export economy

One of the big things that the government of Ethiopia is focusing on is growing its manufacturing industry and created a strong foundation of exports that can be traded with wealthy countries such as the United States and China. Their work has paid off, as the industrial section of the country’s economy has grown, and it has become the main manufacturing hub of all the countries in the region.

Leader of shifting African narrative

There is a big shift in opinion on how many people are viewing the economic situation in Africa. The continent’s booming population, as well as local advances in medicine and education, have made it a prime breeding ground for explosive growth over the next couple decades. This would do wonders to bring prosperity to a region of the world where many countries have a good deal of people living below the poverty line. Ethiopia is currently the prototype for what a new and industrialized Africa might look like.