Mali And Ethiopia example essay topic

A Brief Overview of the History of Ethiopia Ethiopia is one of the most unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule, with the short exception of an occupation by the Italians from 1936-1941. A socialist state was established in 1974 with the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, who had been in control since 1930. A junta or group of military officers called the Der was responsible for the coup. Yet, this corrupt administration has lead only to warfare and wide scale public suffering. In 1991, the junta was finally brought down by a combination of revolutionary forces who called themselves the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.

In 1994, a constitution was drafted and 1995 marked Ethiopia's first multiparty elections. Recently, a boarder feud with Eritrea, that lasted over 2 years, was ended in December of 2000; yet recent objections by Ethiopia have delayed a final declaration of border. The landlocked country of Ethiopia is located in east Africa, just west of Somalia, and is roughly twice the size of Texas. Ethiopia's natural resources include platinum, copper, and small reserves of gold. Only. 65% of the land is suitable and allotted for permanent crops.

Ethiopia is currently facing several environmental concerns including deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and water shortages due to poor management of water-intensive farming. Ethiopia's population is in excess of 66 million. Ethiopia is home to numerous ethnic groups, the largest being Oromo, which accounts for 40% of the population. About half of the Ethiopian population is Muslim, with the majority of the other half practicing Ethiopian Orthodox. Ethiopia's government is a federal republic which grants its citizens voting rights at 18 years of age. Currently, Ethiopia faces the problem of attempting to control the illicit drugs that come through the country, as it acts as a hub for the transportation of heroin and cocaine.

A Brief Overview of the History of Mali Mali became a French colony in 1904 and was renamed French Sudan. In June of 1960, it gained its' independence and became known as the Sudanese Republic. The Sudanese Republic associated with the Republic of Senegal under one federation. In August of 1960, Senegal broke off connections with the federation, and the Sudanese Republic changed its name to The Republic of Mali. In the late 1960's, the government was overthrown and Mali was placed under military rule. This rule was ended in 1991 and by 1992 Mali announced its first democratically elected president.

Mali is located in western Africa and is nearly twice the size of Texas. Mali has several valuable natural resources including gold, salt, limestone, and uranium. Only. 04% of Mali's land is suitable for permanent crops. Poaching, deforestation, and soil-erosion are all extensive environmental problems that Mali is faced with. Mali's population is slightly over 11.5 million and has a growth rate of 2.82%.

The vast majority of Malians are Muslim (Over 90%) and French is the official language. Mali's government is a republic which grants voting rights to its citizens at 18 years of age. One of Mali's current international issues is that of bandits in Mali attacking southern Algerian towns. Implications of the HDI Report - Ethiopia and MaliHDI is short for human development index, which is used to measure accomplishments in life expectancy, education, and real income.

Ethiopia received an HDI of. 359 (out of 1), ranking it as #169, slightly better than Mali's HDI value of. 337 and ranking of #172. The following is a detailed comparison of more explicit factors. Infant mortality has been a habitual problem in many developing nations. Ethiopia has an infant mortality rate of 166 per every 1,000 births.

Mali's is considerably better at only 141 per 1,000 births. Life Expectancy is another factor used measure a countries development. Ethiopia has a life expectancy of 45.7 years, while Mali has a slightly better life expectancy of 48.4 years. A significant difference that exists between Mali and Ethiopia is the literacy rate. Ethiopia enjoys a 40.3% adult literacy rate while Mali only has a 26.4% adult literacy rate.

Population growth rates are very comparable among the two countries. Ethiopia has a 2.7% population growth rate while Mali's is at 2.6%. HIV / AIDS is another major concern for developing nations. Only 1.65% of Mali's population is living with HIV / AIDS while 6.41% of Ethiopia's population is living with HIV / AIDS. Economic performance is most often measured through the GDP, or the total dollar value of all the goods produced by the country. Ethiopia has a GDP of 6.2 billion (USD) while Mali has a GDP of 2.6 billion.

The following table summarizes the results Indicators Ethiopia MaliHDI Index 0.359 0.337 Infant Mortality 166 141 Life Expectancy 45.7 48.4 Literacy Rate 40.3 26.4 Population Growth 2.7 2.6 AIDS 6.41 1.65 GDP (In Billions) $6.20 $2.60 Showed here: The Poverty Problems of Ethiopia Poverty is perhaps the most chronic and debilitating problem that the developing world faces. Extensive poverty exists in Ethiopia, the HDI report states that 81.9% of the population is living in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty can be defined as living on less than 1 U.S. dollar per day. Although the vast majority of the Ethiopian population is living in extreme poverty, the highest percentages of income earners exude culture and a rich lifestyle. Ethiopia's economy is extremely dependent upon agricultural, which accounts for 45% of the GDP. Coffee, qat, hides, and skins make up 80% of all exports from Ethiopia.

Coffee is Ethiopia's most valuable export, earning the most in foreign markets. Industry only makes up 11% of Ethiopia's GDP, with the other 43% being accounted for by services. Dependence on agriculture makes the country's economic condition an unstable phenomenon at best. Many external forces can disrupt agriculture; weather plays a key role, namely droughts, which have the ability to devastate Ethiopia's agricultural well being.

Another constant external threat is commodity price fluctuations. Ethiopia's two year boarder war with Eritrea has resulted in major economic set backs, but the recently signed peace treaty has Ethiopia's government focusing its spending on improving infrastructure. In early 2002, Ethiopia was faced with a food crisis. Rainfall has been less than expected and is having a serious impact on food shortages.

14 million people are currently faced with food shortages. The European Union is Ethiopia's primary trading partner, with 38% of their imports coming from the EU, and 45% of their exports ending up in the EU. Very little private sector foreign investment exists in Ethiopia. The country is slowly embracing a market oriented economy after decades of a state controlled economy. Ethiopia opening up to the free market system will stimulate its economy, especially in terms of foreign investment.

The Ethiopian government has set priorities on improvements that they would bring about. Extensive spending is being allotted for improvements in transportation. The upgrading and expansion of Ethiopia's road network is crucial toward long-term poverty alleviation, and its government realizes this and is spending a considerable amount improving infrastructure. Obtaining long-lasting food security is another of the Ethiopian government's major focuses. Long-term development programs and going to be put into place to alleviate the basic causes of food insecurity.

These development programs aim at micro-financing to increase the poor's' access to credit, improvement of current agricultural production methods, and livestock development. The aforementioned programs are crucial to the improvement of economical conditions in Ethiopia. The Poverty Problems of Mali Mali is considered one of the world's poorest countries, despite increasing economic growth since 1994. The HDI report has 72.8% of Mali's population living on less than 1 U.S. dollar per day. Mali's economic well being is extremely unstable. Fluctuating climate, varying trade, and the dependence on ports in neighboring countries all contribute to an unstable and vulnerable economic atmosphere.

The vast majority of Mali's exports are in gold, cotton, and livestock. Fluctuating demand and rates for these products also plays a role in the instability of Mali's economy. The agricultural sector accounts for almost half of the GDP and employees over 70% of the work force, although this is largely at subsistence levels. Yet despite all of this, Mali's GDP has been at a steady growth rate of 5% per year. This can be attributed to a liberalization of economic policies which create the foundation for a strong market-oriented economy.

Still problems persist. Over half the population lack access to drinking water. Three fourths of the population is illiterate and has inadequate access to schooling. Mali also carries an enormous debt, which discourages its fight against poverty. Mali is attempting to concentrate government spending on the improvement of rural roads, schools, and health care institutions. Mali is currently engaged in structural reform aimed at promoting activities in the private sector and rebuilding activities in the public sector.

In September of 2000, Mali was accepted into the World Bank / IMF heavily indebted countries initiative. Under this program, 225 million dollars of debt will be written off if Mali continues its privatization programs. Obviously these debt reductions are vital to Mali's fight against poverty. Remarks I have learned many new and interesting things since I started this report.

Developing nations continue to face many problems today, many of them stemming from or relating to poverty. The statistics of Mali especially struck me as being one of the poorest countries in the world it has a GDP of only 2.6 billion, a figure that is 13,200 times smaller than the GDP of the United States. Substantially poor countries have inadequate access to early every commodity, including drinking water, food, and schooling. The HDI report provides some interesting insight into the exact problems of developing nations and allows us to compare them to the other countries of the world.

Many developing nations, especially Ethiopia and Mali have unstable economies due to their reliance on exports and farming to provide the majority of their income. This leaves their economic stability up to fluctuating prices and climatic changes. Although this is a deplorable situation, there is little they can do to change it. Both Ethiopia and Mali are trying to improve infrastructure to gain long-term economic growth. The European Union and other foreign aids are helping them to accomplish these goals. Making property rights easily attainable is also an important factor in economic development.

This way, the poor can use their homes as collateral for startup capital to create businesses or invest, promoting economic expansion. It was also interesting to read about the history of each country, and I was surprised when I realized that Ethiopia is one of the oldest independent countries. This report was extremely fascinating and helped me get a better grasp on events outside of the United States. I feel that a worldview is increasingly important in our day and age to help people better understand the problems and solutions in developing nations.

Bibliography

1. The CIA, web The formal HDI Report, web indicators. pdf 3. The European Union, web en. htm 4. The World Bank, web web web web.