Ethiopia’s Economic Growth in the Context of the Africa Rising Debate

Abstract

This chapter attempts to situate Ethiopia’s economic growth of the past decades in the context of the debate over whether Africa is really rising. It argues that both the narratives of Africa’s development “successes” and “failures” that have put forth to explain Africa’s reality since 2000 could not explain Ethiopia’s reality alone but in combination. Ethiopia has recorded phenomenal economic growth (averaging 10%) over the past decade. This coupled with the government pro-poor policies has enabled it to make significant progress on human development indicators and poverty reduction. Yet, Ethiopia remains a poor country grappling with several development challenges.