Diaspora Engagement and Policy in Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the largest and poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although Ethiopia has a low emigration rate at 0.7 per cent (World Bank, 2011), compared to other sub-Saharan African countries, due to its sheer population size of approximately 83 million people, it has a large diaspora community in absolute terms. The exact size of the diaspora is unknown, but is estimated to be 1--2 million people with large populations in the Middle East, North America and Europe. Ethiopians are the second largest group of sub-Saharan Africans in the United States (after Nigeria) and the fifteenth largest in Europe (AFTDC-AFTQK, 2007).