📜 A long story
Ethiopia, 1800 → today
Ethiopia grew from 12 million in 1800 to 129 million; a newborn can expect 31.8 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 3.7× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 12 million people lived in Ethiopia.
1900
17.7 million people.
1.5× the 1800 level
1950
17.7 million people.
about the same as in 1900
2023
129 million people, the latest year in this series.
7.3× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1965.
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1997.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 2021.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Ethiopia could expect to live 35.5 years, on average.
2023
67.3 years, the latest year in this series.
+32 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1961.
Passed 50 years in 2000.
Passed 60 years in 2011.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 7.1 years between 1982 and 1983 (43.4 years → 36.3 years).
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, Ethiopia produced about Int$622 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$2,290, the latest year in this series.
3.7× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 2012.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 29% between 1987 and 1993 (Int$980 → Int$699).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1941
In 1941, fossil fuels and industry in Ethiopia emitted about 0.00062 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.1 t, the latest year in this series.
216× the 1941 level
Reached twice the 1941 level, reached 5 times the 1941 level in 1950.
Reached 10 times the 1941 level in 1953.
Reached 20 times the 1941 level in 1954.
Reached 50 times the 1941 level in 1966.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 51% between 1971 and 1977 (0.1 t → 0.032 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.