Ethiopia Projects Double-Digit Growth amid Homegrown Reform Success

Addis Ababa, October 28, 2025 (ENA) - Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the Ethiopian economy is on track to register a double-digit growth rate during the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

Addressing questions raised by members of the House of People's Representatives (HPR) today, he said the optimistic forecast follows the past impressively successful year when major policy commitments were successfully executed.

According to the premier, Ethiopia’s overall growth trajectory is among the four or five globally fast-growing economies.

The foundation of this projected growth is the comprehensive Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda that fundamentally shifts the nation's economic reliance away from a purely agriculture-led model.

The administration recognized that singular sectoral dependence could not help achieve the required pace of poverty reduction.

Consequently, the Homegrown Reform strategy emphasizes a diversified, multi-sectoral approach integrating agriculture, industry, mining, tourism, and technology, supported by partnerships between the government, the private sector, and civil society, the PM elaborated.

Despite the strategic shift, he said the agriculture sector grew by a robust 7.3 percent in last fiscal year, contributing 2.3 percent to the overall GDP growth.

The industry sector expanded by 13 percent, contributing 3.7 percent to GDP growth, reflecting an ongoing structural transition from construction dominance toward manufacturing and mining.

The mining sector, in particular, registered substantial progress, boosting its contribution to GDP growth from 0.1 percent to 1 percent, he said.

The services sector maintained strong growth at 7.5 percent, contributing 3.1 percent to the overall growth.

Abiy noted that the reform has produced notable improvements in fiscal strength and foreign exchange generation.

‘‘Government revenue has experienced a dramatic increase, rising from 170 billion Birr at the start of the reform period to 1 trillion Birr this fiscal year.’’

The country’s Foreign Currency (FX) reserve position has also improved tenfold compared to pre-reform levels, reflecting successful policy implementation.

Regarding international trade, the total volume of exports achieved in the entire last fiscal year was matched in just four months of the current fiscal year, the premier said.

Furthermore, for the first time in Ethiopia's history, has earned 8.1 billion USD from export last fiscal year, he added.

These external inflows were supplemented by substantial remittances totaling 7.4 billion USD, alongside Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) targeted through a focus on large-scale investors that exceeded 4 billion USD.

Regarding debt, the PM stated that Ethiopia’s total debt does not exceed 23 billion USD, the majority of which is commercial loan. The government is carrying out loan negotiations in this regard.

The Prime Minister said his government has not incurred a single dollar of new commercial loan over the past seven years.