Ethiopia's Economy Back to Pre-COVID Level: WB

May 1 , 2021.

Ethiopia's economy recovers from the impacts of COVID-19 despite a fall in foreign direct investment and a slight decline in export proceeds, reads the latest economic update from the World Bank (WB).

Dubbbed “Ensuring Resilient Recovery from COVID-19,” the update cites that the employment rate in rural areas has recovered to pre-COVID levels, while the rate in urban areas is still lagging behind, albeit only slightly.

The increase in service exports, which had been falling during the earlier days of COVID-19, and the soar in remittance flow have contributed to the recovery of Ethiopia's economy, the Bank noted.

Miguel Eduardo Sánchez Martín, World Bank senior country economist and lead author of the report, finds these outcomes are "a good indication that the Ethiopian economy is starting to recover from the COVID-19 crisis."

The economist, however, warned that "recovery may be uneven" with the surge in the number of new infections in February and March 2021.

Over a year into the pandemic, Ethiopia has so far reported more than a quarter of a million cases, while one million people have taken the first doses of the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.

PUBLISHED ON May 01,2021 [ VOL 22 , NO 1096]