Between 2003 and 2011, Ethiopia recorded sustained double-digit real gross domestic product (GDP) annual growth rates; after which growth peaked in 2017. In the fiscal year 2015/16, the country’s annual economic output slumped to a 12-year low (with real GDP printing at 8% year-on-year).
The output numbers could even be worse in 2022 given that growth has been negatively impacted by the conflict in the Tigrayan region. But perhaps a rather more worrying trend was recorded in the country’s external position, as the current account balance worsened to a deficit of $6.5bn in 2017 (or just about 9% of its GDP at the time).
To help reverse the situation, authorities thought the country could do with some currency devaluations, which delivered little or no harvest, and the country’s reserves have taken a hit.
For instance, in the fiscal year 2020/21, Ethiopia’s gross reserves could only cover
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