Ambassador for Ethopia - Term Paper Example

The Ambassador for Ethiopia Speech Dear members of the audience, I would like to turn your attention to some problems my country faces now. As some of you may know, Ethiopia belongs to the group of so-called least developed countries, with its GDP per capita (Purchasing Power Parity) not exceeding $ 1,000. Ethiopia’s geographical situation has to a certain extent contributed to this situation, with its mountainous and semi-desert territory of 435,071 sq. mi lacking sufficient natural resources to support large population.

The population of my country is ethnically diverse, and among Ethiopia’s approximately 82,824,732 denizens, one may find representatives of more than eighty ethnic groups, with Oromo (34,5%), Amhara (26.9%), Somali (6.2%) and Tigray (6.1%) being the major ones. Religious allegiances of Ethiopian population are generally mixed, with Orthodox Christianity being followed by 43,5% of religious population, with different forms of Islamic faith (33,9%) and Protestant Christian churches (18,6%) being the second and the third most popular confessions, respectively (“Ethiopia”, 2011).

As regards population density, it should be noted that it amounts to 186/sq. mi, and therefore Ethiopia ranks as the 123rd by population density among the nations of the world. The annual population growth of Ethiopia exceeds 3.194%, with 42.99 births/1,000 population (“Ethiopia”, 2011). This would make Ethiopia 8th among the world’s countries by population growth and 6th by birth rate, respectively. Total fertility rate equals 6,02 children born/woman. However, the extremely high infant mortality level (77.

12 deaths/1,000 live births) definitely presents a difficulty to further demographic development and stabilization of the country, while life expectancy at birth amounts to mere 56.19 years (“Ethiopia”, 2011). With regard to economic data of Ethiopia, it is characterised by generally high growth rates, as the country possesses abundant hydropower potential and rich agricultural lands. Ethiopia’s GDP at current prices is estimated to be $29,707 billion in 2011, while GDP (PPP) in the same year would exceed $94,598 billion (International Monetary Fund, 2011).

Consequently, GDP per capita at current prices in 2011 has not exceeded $342.113, while the relevant data for GDP per capita (PPP) amounts to $94.598 (International Monetary Fund, 2011). GDP growth figures are rather impressive for the African nation that lacks significant energy reserves, with GDP growth rate rising to about 10,5% in 2007 and stabilising at approximately 6,8% in 2009. The Ethiopian economic growth is almost exclusively based on agricultural development, as agriculture remains a leading sector of national economy.

As of 2011, agriculture contributed 45% of total GDP and accounted for 85% of total employment. Employment in industry, on the contrary, did not exceed 5% of total workforce in 2010. According to 2010 data, industry accounted for 13,7% of GDP, while services/tertiary sector contributed 43,4% of its total amount. The percentage of workforce employed in services is generally close to 10% (“Ethiopia”, 2011). All of this means that Ethiopia’s productivity level is abysmally low, with agriculture being particularly labor-intensive.

The inadequacy of general socio-economic structure, despite high growth figures, explains the high level of poverty that the population of Ethiopia routinely suffers. About 38,70% of working-age population lives below internationally established poverty line, subsisting at around $1 per day. At the same time, inflation seems to be an important problem for an average Ethiopian: the inflation rate in consumer prices amounted to 7% in 2010, while in 2009 this figure exceeded 8,5%. The distribution of social wealth among the population is rather unequal as well; according to the data, highest 10% of Ethiopian households consume 25,6% of income, while lowest 10% had to satisfy their needs with mere 4,1%.

Consequently, the Gini index level for Ethiopia has reached the level of 30, making the country one of those nations which are characterised by medium income equality (“Ethiopia”, 2011). With regard to other population data, such as those pertaining to general human development or the measure of gender in/equality, it should be noted that Ethiopia is one of the lowest developed nations in the world. Its Human Development Index (HDI) showing does not exceed 0,328, while inequality-adjusted HDI value is approximately 0,216.

As for Ethiopia’s ranking in Gender-Related Development Index (GDI), the conclusive recent data shows that it is 144th among 155 listed nations (United Nations, 2010). Literacy level of Ethiopian population (for adults of both sexes) does not exceed 35,9%, while combined gross enrolment ratio in education (for both sexes) amounts to 49%. Net primary school enrolment is approximately 78,2%. At the same time, expected schooling time of children equals 8,3 years, and expenditure on education does not exceed 5,5% of total GDP (United Nations, 2010).

Naturally, all of this does not allow for sustained development of Ethiopian education system. Human security data for Ethiopia are often fragmented, and yet allow for validation of general picture of the problems connected with security in this country. Total unemployment rate in Ethiopia amounts to 17% of the country’s labor force, and the number of refugees that reside in Ethiopia equals 63,900 people. The country’s homicide rate (per 100,000) reaches the level of 6,4, and population affected by natural disasters (average per year) amounts to 37,289 per million people (United Nations, 2010).

The HIV/AIDS spread across Ethiopia is fairly marginal one, especially in comparison with the epidemic of this disease in the southern regions of Africa; among the age category of 16-49, the HIV prevalence is registered in 2,1% of total cases. Still, the problem of diseases retains its prominence; the risks of such food or waterborne diseases as bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever remain high, while malaria, meningococcal meningitis and rabies are still fairly dangerous for Ethiopia’s population (“Ethiopia”, 2011).

As for corruption and graft among the politicians and officials, Ethiopia remains one of the most corrupt nations of Africa and the world. According to data available, Ethiopia’s Corruption Perception Index ranking amounts to 2,7. This means that the country is actually plagued by high levels of governmental corruption, which has adverse impact on the general well-being of its people and Ethiopia’s international showing. The specific problems of Ethiopia that also merit inclusion in this survey also have much to do with legacy of civil war of the 1980s, which led to the emergence of serious problems between different ethnic communities.

The secession of Eritrea in 1994 and protracted conflict between the two nations left the seeds of misunderstanding between Amhara and Tigrinya people in Ethiopia itself, while militant Somali separatists in south-eastern Ogaden province remain a threat to territorial integrity of Ethiopia. The participation of the country in international efforts with regard to pacification of Somalia also led to some frictions within Ethiopia itself, with Muslim community being not particularly pleased by the presence of Ethiopian army on the Somali soil.

This and other problems of ethnic character are thankfully not as prominent and serious as those of the other African nations but still present a possible threat to domestic peace and security of Ethiopian nation. With respect to possible solutions to some of the most pressing problems of Ethiopia, such as the low level of literacy and the presence of infectious diseases, it should be noted that these problems will remain untackled until the international community and the Ethiopian government combine their efforts in these spheres.

For instance, it would be prudent to allocate additional funds for the program aimed at comprehensive enrolment of Ethiopian children in primary and secondary schools, while the programs for adult education are desperately needed if the nation may hope to create necessary strata of qualified workers for the development of its admittedly rather backward industrial and service sectors. In addition, the development of university-level educational institutions is necessary in order to boost general educational level of Ethiopians, as well as to ensure that the new strata of educated professionals would use their knowledge in future to benefit and advance the interests of Ethiopia.

Such fields of university education as applied sciences are especially important in this regard. Finally, the overcoming of health problems of the country necessitates the additional investments in health infrastructure and the improvements in general sanitation network which is completely inadequate. The establishment of modern system of health provision should also take into account the issue of HIV/AIDS, which presents a grave threat to the population of Ethiopia. I believe that the allocation of additional funds may have a positive impact on solving of the problems mentioned above.

Thank you for attention. References Ethiopia. (2011) CIA world factbook. Retrieved May 11, 2011 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html International Monetary Fund. (2011) World economic outlook database, April 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011 from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=52&pr.y=2&sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=644&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= United Nations. (2010) Human development report 2009.

Retrieved May 11, 2011 from http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2009/chapters/