Ethiopia reports 8% growth in 2016

Ethiopia’s economy has grown by 8 percent in 2008 Ethiopian fiscal year (2015/16), said Dr Yinager Dese, Commissioner of the National Planning Commission of Ethiopia.

The projected target was an 11 percent growth, said the Commissioner in his press briefing yesterday.

The growth slowed down due to the worst El Niño-caused drought which Ethiopia faced last fiscal year, leading to failed harvests which cover 95 percent of the country’s meher production, he said.

Last year, the agricultural sector accounted for only 36.6 percent of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to 44.4 percent five years ago, showing a slight shift from dependency on agriculture, the commissioner said.

In contrast, the industrial and the service sectors accounted for 16.6 percent and 47 percent of the GDP respectively, showing growth in the sectors compared to the results registered in the past years, Dr Yinager said.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia has experienced double-digit economic growth during the past successive years.

FBC.