Some Statistics

Living conditions: According to the Human Development Report of 2001, about 45% of the people in Ethiopia live on less than 10 Birr (one US dollar) per day.

Literacy rate: The adult literacy rate is 36% (46% for males and 25% for females). The primary school enrollment rate is 68.4% for both sexes, out of which girls constitute 59%. 48% of girls drop out by 6th grade compared to 25% of boys.

Student:Teacher Ratio: 65:1

Student:Textbook Ratio: 3:1

Age: 55% of the population are under age 20. 3% are over age 55.

Life Expectancy: Average 47.6 years.

Access to safe drinking water: Only 33% of the population had access to safe drinking water in 1999. The coverage in urban areas is 80% and in rural areas it is 14.3%.

Sanitation facilities: Sanitation coverage is estimated at 25%, 74% of urban-dwellers have access to reasonable sanitation facilities.

Health care performance: The health system provides health care for 52% of the population. Most of the rural population has limited access to modern health-care services. In terms of service delivery, it is estimated that only 75% of urban households and about 42% of rural-dwellers have access to health facilities. There is seasonal shortage of medicines and medical supplies. Like in many other African countries, the main causes for the shortage of medicines and medical supplies are lengthy procurement procedures, limited access to information and an inefficient distribution system.

The issue of health-care services delivery to the pastoral communities (nomads), who account for 10% of the population, calls for special attention.

Agricultural productivity and food safety: Low agricultural productivity and recurring drought are responsible for nutritional deficiencies. 51.5% of children below the age of five were stunted while 10.5% were wasted and 42.7% were underweight. The same survey found out that 3.6% of the women were stunted and 30.1% were undernourished. Micronutrient deficiencies, in particular vitamin A deficiency and iodine deficiency disorders, are also
widespread.

Unemployment/underemployment/migration: According to the report of the Central Statistics Authority (CSA) on the 1999 national labour force survey, 8% of all people aged 15 years and above were unemployed. This means that most of the rural population in this age category is employed, but they produce enough for the subsistence of the family only. Thus, no surplus is available to earn an income for the improvement of the economic well-being of the population. Of the total population of the country, 19.6% are migrants. The reasons for population movement (migration) are search for work, marriage arrangements and return home or going back to place of origin, and search for grazing area. Pastoralists constitute about 10% of the population. It was found that females were more likely to migrate than males.

Status of women: Violence against women is still prevalent in the country and harmful traditional practices (abduction, early marriage, etc.) are common. These have negative consequences on the health of women. Therefore, mainstream gender issues in all aspects of development, including health, are important. Ethiopia has the highest incidence of maternal mortality of any country in the world, ranging from 560 to 850 per 100,000 population.