Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) – Population Dynamics

Ethiopian Population Dynamics – Exercise 1
Abstract
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia commonly referred to as Ethiopia is a developing country with an estimated population of 84 million (Background Note: Ethiopia). Ethiopia has a population growth rate of roughly 2.6%, an infant mortality rate of 77/1,000 live births and a life expectancy of age 56 (Ethiopia DataFinder ). With this information in mind, Ethiopia is a developing country with some significant population concerns.

Ethiopian Population Dynamics
Ethiopia boasts a highly diverse population with over seventy seven different ethnic groups each with their own language, culture and beliefs (Background Note: Ethiopia). Though Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capitol is a fairly well developed and ever growing city much of the population lives in rural areas where quality of life services such as hospitals, doctors and medicine are often out of reach. Due to this it is not uncommon to see a gross difference in population data between rural and urban areas.
Birth/Fertility Rates
In the urban areas of Ethiopia the estimated birth rate for people between age twenty and twenty nine is two hundred eighty one while the birth rate for the same age group is four hundred ninety eight in rural communities (Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011). The birth rate in rural areas is more than fifty percent higher than urban areas where significantly better prenatal and postnatal healthcare is available. These numbers help show that while Ethiopia has worked to reduce the birth rate and population growth more work is to be done in the rural areas.
Putting rural versus urban locations aside we are left with General Fertility Rate (GFR) of roughly one hundred sixty one for the entire country. This means that for every one thousand