Regional Disparity Of Investment In Ethiopia From 1992- 2017

Investment, in flawless speaking, is the backbone of Ethiopian economy growth and Pipeline to technology transfer. At the moment it has non-replaceable contribution in generation of income, creation of job and inflow of foreign currency and new innovations. Due to different reasons, however, regional disparity of investment is the critical problem in Ethiopia. Thus, this paper attempted to examine the regional variation of investment in Ethiopia from 1992-2027. For analysis the statistical data were collected from Ethiopian Investment Commission. The data were analyzed via percentage, mean, standard deviation and growth rate (midpoint method) techniques. The aggregate data shown that there was increment of investment in Ethiopia in terms of number of projects, capital and job creation with significant deviation in regional growth and distribution from 1992 to 2017. Most investment projects and capital were placed in a few developed regions: Addis Ababa, Oromia, Amhara Tigray and somewhat in SNNPR. The study also showed that developing regions like Afar, Somali, Gambella, etc were founded at lowest level of investment in all aspects. Therefore, in order to diminish this unequal distribution of investment and polarized economic growth the government, researchers and regional policy makers of Ethiopia should analyze scientifically the factors that determine the regional distribution of investment and take remedial measures. Moreover, regions that are found at lower level of investment should work jointly with and take lessons from the regions that have relatively good experiences in attraction of investment.