ADDIS ABABA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government has announced that the country's economy is on track to achieve a projected 7.9 percent growth rate for the current Ethiopian 2023/2024 fiscal year, which began on July 8.
The performance in the East African country's agriculture, industry and service sectors over the first nine months of the fiscal year indicates that the target is attainable, said Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopian minister of planning and development, as reported by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Monday.
Highlighting the "impressive performance" of various economic sectors, Assefa said agricultural products have achieved commendable outputs. The industrial sector has demonstrated significant growth, and the service sector has also seen notable success, particularly in transportation, tourism, and other key areas.
In terms of revenue generation, Assefa said that the Ethiopian government has collected about 374 billion Ethiopian birr (about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the past nine months. Total government expenditure during the same period amounted to 495 billion birr (about 8.6 billion dollars), with capital expenditure accounting for a substantial 15.5 percent of the total.
Ethiopia has generated about 2.5 billion dollars from the export of goods and 5.8 billion dollars from service exports.
The minister expressed confidence that the projected 7.9 percent economic growth is achievable by the end of the fiscal year, attributing it to the positive outlook and progress made in key economic areas crucial for the country's macroeconomic development.
According to the World Bank, Ethiopia, with about 126.5 million people, is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria and one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with a 7.2 percent growth during the previous Ethiopian fiscal year (2022/2023).
Despite consistently high economic growth over the last decade, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries, according to the World Bank. The country aims to reach lower-middle-income status by 2025.
