A week after the World Bank described Ethiopia as one of the fastest growing economies, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) predicted the country will not become a middle income nation by 2025. In a report titled, “The Least Developed Countries Report 2016,” it listed 13 developing nations expected to reach a middle income nation. Ethiopia was not one of them.
In Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Angola made the list.
A number of criteria were used to determine the findings by the UNCTAD, including the per capita incomes, human assets and economic vulnerabilities.
Ethiopia showed negative economical vulnerabilities as a result of per capital income and human assets, according to Joy Kategekwa (PhD), head of UNCTAD’s regional office for Africa.
The latest data indicates the per capita income of the country has managed to reach over 794 dollars, which doubled in the past five years. In terms of the human development index, Ethiopia ranks 173rd out of 186 countries in the latest UNDP Human Development Report.
For a country to achieve a middle income status , it has to meet at least three of the criteria.
Since the LDC (Least Developed Countries) category came into being 45 years ago, five countries have managed to leave the LDC status and join the middle income family of nations. Currently, there are 48 LDCs around the world.
In addition, the proportion of poverty in these countries has doubled in the past three decades.
The Ethiopian Government has set a goal of reaching middle income nation status by 2025.
Source – Addis Fortune