Transport in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian infrastructure is better developed in the regions of Tigray and Amhara than in the more neglected wasteland rich Middle East.

• 2.1 Education
• 2.2 Health

Technical Infrastructure

The transport infrastructure is considered by international standards as rather unsatisfactory, but it is trying to expand the network independently.

Seaports

Ethiopia is a landlocked country without its own sea port. Before the Eritrea - Ethiopia war of 1998-2000, Ethiopia has international trade settled mostly on the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massawa. Currently, the Port of Djibouti, to which there is a rail link from Addis Ababa, and used to a lesser extent the Port Sudan in Sudan. 2005 began negotiations on the use of the port of Berbera in Somaliland.

Roads and rails

Ethiopia has further about 33 856 km of roads, of which only 4367 are paved and 681 km tracks, representing the Ethiopian section of the rail link Addis Ababa to Djibouti. Internal trade is greatly restricted. In the rainy season, barely paved transport routes are impassable and people are often cut off for weeks from the markets and from medical facilities. The road network is expanded annually by an average of 6%. In total there are 26,053 km highways, of which only 3656 km of paved roads that run through the rugged landscape. The road that connects the major sea port in Djibouti to Ethiopia, with its capital Addis Ababa is often overloaded. However, it is currently investing heavily in upgrading the roads so. Approximately in the east-west connection between the Lake Tana and the city Weldiya Currently involved in other Chinese companies.

A single 681 km long narrow gauge railway line is connecting Addis Ababa with Djibouti. The railway line is in poor condition, therefore, the European Commission has approved a loan of 40 million euros for the reconstruction process in 2003. This credit has been increased in 2006 in view of rising prices for fuel and steel, to 50 million. It is the intention (October 2006), soon to appoint a Construction company with the work so that the work could be undertaken in early 2007. In the future, the railway line is to be taken over by a private operator.

Airports

Furthermore, the country has two international airports in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, and other 80 airports and airstrips (2005 ), of which 14 are paved. In particular, the relevant tourist cities are equipped with airports or slopes.

Communication

The telecommunications network in Ethiopia is mid -wide and well developed. In 2003 there were in all of Ethiopia only 435,000 telephone lines and 178,000 mobile phones, therefore about 0.0058 and 0.0024 per inhabitant, which represented one of the lowest values ​​in the world. Internet users in 2005 was 113,000 nationwide. Meanwhile, there are all regional centers and public phones often also Internet cafes, coffee shops and phone shops. There are now in some parts of the country, a mobile network.

The prices of telecommunications, especially for international calls, however, are very high. ( They are about 15 Birr per minute for a call to the Federal Republic of Germany ). Internet connections are very slow in part, so that a use is hardly possible or only with a high degree of patience.

In mobile network, there are roaming agreement with the operator E-Plus and Telekom. An Ethiopian SIM card costs about 370 Birr and can be purchased by foreigners in hotels, telecommunication stores or directly from the Ethiopian Telekom itself on presentation of own passport. Foreigners only the possession of a SIM card is here, however, allowed. The prefix Ethiopian mobile numbers are the numbers 091 followed by another number, which is different in each of the nine ethnically defined regions.

Energy

For power generation, hydropower is used in the first place. In 2004, installed capacity of 750 MW. There are the projects Gilgel Gibe and Tekeze additional capacity of 450 MW and 300 MW under construction or in planning. In addition, a coal-fired power plant is being built by a Chinese company consortium. However, some Ethiopians are strictly against current, because that violates their religion.

The electrification of the country is progressing gradually. Meanwhile, about 15 percent of the population connected to the power grid. There is still a potential of geothermal energy. In cooperation with the German Society for Technical Cooperation ( GTZ), the Ethiopian authorities shall, inter alia, the development of hydropower.

Legal and Social Infrastructure

Education

There are 6 universities and other higher education institutions in Ethiopia with a total of 765,000 students ( 2002). In contrast, the level of education overall is very low and the vocational training is a focus of German development cooperation. In Ethiopia Officially school is compulsory, but it is not enforced consistently. The illiteracy rate of over 15 years is 59.7 % ( 2001). In Ethiopia, are thus most people are illiterate. 41% of children attend primary school and 10% attend secondary school. In girls, this proportion is lower than in boys.

Health

Only 6 percent of all births in Ethiopia can be medically treated.