Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, determinants and consequences: Inequality and Growth in an Agricultural-led Development Model: The case of Ethiopia over 1995-2011

Ethiopia is a landlocked, multi-ethnic and ecologically diverse country of 1.1 million square kilometres, with a population of 99 million people growing at 2.5 per cent a year (UNDESA, 2015). The country occupies much of the Horn of Africa, a drought-prone area frequently affected by food crisis. Despite these structural handicaps, between 2000 and 2011, Ethiopia recorded GDP growth of 8.0 per cent, 6.0 per cent growth in agriculture, a rapid increase in cereal production, stable and low inequality, and declining poverty (table 13.1).