February 6, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) - The ministry of finance and economic development on Wednesday announced that Ethiopia has registered an average of 10% economic growth during the past two years of the five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).

In a report, state minister Abraham Tekeste said Ethiopia’s economy showed 8.5% growth during the last fiscal year of 2011-2012, with 4.9 % growth in the agriculture sector, 13.6 % in industry and 11.1 % in the service sector.

Investment is also up by 6.7% from 27.9% to 34.6%, he added.

During the year, the country registered a national savings rate of 16%, exceeding the 15% initial target set by the growth plan.

Tekeste underscored that the nation will continue to register an average double-digit growth in the remaining three-year period of the GTP.

He further said that Ethiopia’s average 11% economic growth rate recorded during the past nine years is far better than the Sub-Saharan average of 5% to 6%.

According to the report, Ethiopian gross domestic product (GDP) has hit $40.5 billion and the per capita income grew from $387 in 2011 to $513 in 2012.

The five-year GTP aims to alleviate poverty and maintain an average GDP growth rate of at least 11.2%, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ensuring the sustainability of attained growth.

Expanding and improving services such as health, education, potable water, agriculture and road development on both urban and rural levels are also part of the GTP’s aims.

Under the GTP, Ethiopia is currently executing multi-billion dollar projects such as the construction of a massive hydro power plant, known as the Grand Renaissance Dam, the construction of railway lines and 10 new sugar factories, among others.

Ethiopia has registered double-digit economic growth for the last decade and says the growth rate will sustain. The horn of Africa nation hopes to join the rank of middle-income countries before 2025 through a series of development policies and strategies.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, with over 84 million, is currently Africa’s fourth-largest economy and East Africa’s largest.

Ethiopia, according to its own figures, labels itself as the fastest-growing non-oil producing African nation.

The GTP was established by the Ethiopian government as a strategic framework to boost growth in the agricultural sector from 2011 to 2015, along with a number of other economic-related initiatives.

(ST)