This will create challenges and opportunities, according to Wilmoth.įor instance, countries with growing populations will experience a concentration of people of working-age, leading to a rapid growth of income per capita. This will lead to older populations, with more people surviving into old age. Additionally, as of April 2021, Ethiopia hosts more than 814,500 refugees (UNHCR 2021).Despite lower fertility rates in nearly all regions of the world (total fertility rates in Africa slowed from 5.1 births per woman between 20 to 4.7 in 2010 to 2015), life expectancy is higher worldwide global life expectancy has risen from 65 years for men and 69 years for women in 2000 to 2005, to 69 years for men and 73 years for women in 2010 to 2015. More than 8 million people in Ethiopia were identified in need of humanitarian assistance in 2020 (OCHA 2020). Conflicts flaring up in many regions also put livelihoods at risk. Additionally, food assistance needs will likely increase through 2020 due to the desert locust infestation, which results in localized losses of crops and pasture, and the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) as travel restrictions and economic disruptions hinder peoples’ livelihoods and access to food. Conflict and climatic shocks contribute to elevated emergency needs and population displacement in Ethiopia (Reliefweb 2020). Subsistence agriculture plays a large role in the economy and in the livelihoods of rural populations and is characterized by weak markets and limited access to improved technologies, making the country particularly susceptible to climate-related shocks. While agriculture remains an important part of the economy, particularly in rural areas where 55 percent of women and 83 percent men work in agriculture (CSA and ICF 2016 World Bank 2019). Growth in the agricultural sector contributed toward poverty reduction. According to the most recent DHS (2016), 25 percent of female deaths are related to pregnancy or childbearing, 77 percent of married women have the potential for having a high-risk birth (CSA and ICF International 2016), and the under-five mortality rate is 55 deaths per 1,000 live births (EPHI and ICF 2019).Įthiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the region. With a fertility rate of 4.6 children born per woman (UNICEF 2018), the country is projected to be among the eight countries in the world with the greatest population increase between 20, with the population estimated to rise to 205.4 million (Population Reference Bureau 2019).Ĭurrently, Ethiopia ranks 135th out of 162 countries in progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Sachs et al. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with a current population of 109.2 million (UNICEF 2019).

Ethiopia population 2050