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Ethiopia trade in 2024

In 2024, Ethiopia exported $3.2 billion and imported $7.2 billion, a trade deficit of $4 billion. It was the world's 133rd-largest exporter, with 0.01% of world exports. Its top export was coffee (45.5% of the total) and its main trading partner was China (34% of its trade).

Summary

Exports
$3.2billion
Imports
$7.2billion
Trade balance
-$4billion
Routes to the main partners. Width: trade value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand
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Products

What it exports

Coffee (45.5%) and cut flowers (8.9%) together make up 54.3% of its exports.

  1. Coffee$1.5 billion · 45.5%
    Main partner: Saudi Arabia
  2. Cut flowers$285 million · 8.9%
    Main partner: Netherlands
  3. Other oilseeds$271 million · 8.4%
    Main partner: China
  4. Dried legumes (beans, lentils, peas)$183 million · 5.7%
    Main partner: China
  5. Electricity$85 million · 2.7%
    Main partner: Kenya
  6. Soybeans$65 million · 2%
    Main partner: Pakistan
  7. Aircraft parts$62 million · 1.9%
    Main partner: Singapore
  8. Turbojets and gas turbines$53 million · 1.6%
    Main partner: Hong Kong
  9. Men's suits and trousers$49 million · 1.5%
    Main partner: United States
  10. Baby clothes (knitted)$39 million · 1.2%
    Main partner: United States

What it imports

Airplanes and helicopters (8.1%) and turbojets and gas turbines (7.4%) together make up 15.5% of its imports.

  1. Airplanes and helicopters$586 million · 8.1%
    Main partner: France
  2. Turbojets and gas turbines$537 million · 7.4%
    Main partner: United Kingdom
  3. Computers$383 million · 5.3%
    Main partner: China
  4. Medicines in measured doses or retail packs$244 million · 3.4%
    Main partner: India
  5. Refined petroleum$243 million · 3.4%
    Main partner: China
  6. Cables and wire$180 million · 2.5%
    Main partner: China
  7. Cameras and broadcast equipment$165 million · 2.3%
    Main partner: China
  8. Vaccines, blood and antisera$157 million · 2.2%
    Main partner: Belgium
  9. Transformers and power supplies$139 million · 1.9%
    Main partner: China
  10. Pesticides and herbicides$120 million · 1.7%
    Main partner: China
By Harmonized System chapter (96)
ChapterExportsImports
09 · Coffee, tea and spices$1.5 billion$3 million
12 · Oilseeds and grains$360 million$16 million
06 · Live plants and flowers$322 million$4 million
07 · Vegetables$192 million$9 million
61 · Knitted clothing$181 million$22 million
62 · Woven clothing$146 million$19 million
27 · Oil, gas and coal$85 million$250 million
84 · Mechanical machinery$67 million$1.8 billion
88 · Aircraft and spacecraft$62 million$660 million
53 · Other plant fibers$46 million$11 million
02 · Meat and offal$44 million$4 million
23 · Animal feed and food waste$35 million$10 million
19 · Baked goods and cereal products$26 million$24 million
41 · Hides and leather$26 million$1 million
52 · Cotton$23 million$14 million
26 · Ores and slag$16 million$131 thousand
60 · Knitted fabric$12 million$68 million
85 · Electrical and electronic equipment$10 million$1.1 billion
71 · Gems and precious metals$9 million$5 million
64 · Footwear$6 million$30 million
08 · Fruit and nuts$6 million$4 million
25 · Salt, stone and cement$6 million$3 million
10 · Cereals$5 million$63 million
42 · Leather goods and bags$5 million$12 million
70 · Glass$5 million$22 million
39 · Plastics$5 million$347 million
74 · Copper$3 million$8 million
35 · Glues, starches and enzymes$3 million$17 million
78 · Lead$3 million$485 thousand
15 · Fats and oils$3 million$24 million
11 · Milling products and malt$3 million$11 million
13 · Gums and plant extracts$2 million$4 million
30 · Pharmaceuticals$2 million$429 million
33 · Perfumes and cosmetics$2 million$99 million
63 · Home textiles and used clothing$2 million$21 million
97 · Art and antiques$2 million$454 thousand
90 · Precision and medical instruments$2 million$230 million
28 · Inorganic chemicals$1 million$23 million
20 · Preserved fruit and vegetables$1 million$13 million
87 · Vehicles$1 million$280 million
65 · Hats$1 million$1 million
04 · Dairy, eggs and honey$1 million$10 million
38 · Miscellaneous chemicals$922 thousand$153 million
22 · Beverages and spirits$877 thousand$16 million
76 · Aluminum$796 thousand$83 million
94 · Furniture and lighting$688 thousand$76 million
05 · Other animal products$647 thousand$624 thousand
21 · Food preparations$639 thousand$54 million
55 · Synthetic staple fibers$529 thousand$51 million
73 · Iron and steel products$409 thousand$183 million
03 · Fish and seafood$395 thousand$194 thousand
67 · Feathers and artificial flowers$387 thousand$2 million
44 · Wood$354 thousand$21 million
69 · Ceramics$318 thousand$24 million
54 · Synthetic filaments$300 thousand$111 million
49 · Books and printed matter$289 thousand$37 million
48 · Paper and paperboard$287 thousand$78 million
16 · Prepared meat and fish$286 thousand$781 thousand
68 · Stone, plaster and cement articles$199 thousand$27 million
96 · Other manufactured goods$177 thousand$20 million
40 · Rubber$173 thousand$112 million
51 · Wool$139 thousand$3 million
46 · Wicker and basketware$134 thousand$40 thousand
86 · Railway equipment$119 thousand$5 million
58 · Special fabrics and lace$117 thousand$14 million
79 · Zinc$108 thousand$1 million
57 · Carpets and rugs$74 thousand$8 million
83 · Miscellaneous metal goods$74 thousand$42 million
34 · Soap and cleaning products$70 thousand$29 million
24 · Tobacco$66 thousand$4 million
32 · Dyes, paints and tanning agents$50 thousand$41 million
17 · Sugar and sweets$49 thousand$10 million
72 · Iron and steel$47 thousand$167 million
82 · Tools and cutlery$44 thousand$26 million
01 · Live animals$38 thousand$8 million
29 · Organic chemicals$38 thousand$33 million
18 · Cocoa and chocolate$37 thousand$6 million
95 · Toys and sports gear$36 thousand$12 million
92 · Musical instruments$31 thousand$401 thousand
91 · Watches and clocks$14 thousand$3 million
81 · Other base metals$14 thousand$1 million
50 · Silk$14 thousand$46 thousand
89 · Ships and boats$13 thousand$2 million
14 · Other plant products$11 thousand$24 thousand
93 · Weapons and ammunition$10 thousand$6 million
31 · Fertilizers$7 thousand$50 million
59 · Coated and technical textiles$4 thousand$22 million
56 · Felt, nonwovens and rope$2 thousand$16 million
66 · Umbrellas and canes$2 thousand$3 million
47 · Wood pulp$2 thousand$1 million
37 · Photographic goods$461$3 million
43 · Fur and fur goods$107$526
75 · Nickel$5$4 million
36 · Explosives and matches$0$3 million
45 · Cork$0$55 thousand
80 · Tin$0$36 thousand

Trading partners

China is its main destination (12.8% of exports) and source (43.5% of imports).

Who it sells to

PartnerValue (USD millions)ShareMode
China40912.8%Sea
United States40912.7%Sea
Saudi Arabia37611.7%Sea
Germany2507.8%Sea
Netherlands2146.7%Sea
Japan1304%Sea
South Korea1263.9%Sea
France1173.7%Sea
Italy1133.5%Sea
Kenya99.63.1%Land

Who it buys from

PartnerValue (USD billions)ShareMode
China3.143.5%Sea
France0.7510.4%Air
India0.446.1%Sea
United States0.395.3%Air
United Kingdom0.385.3%Air
Turkey0.192.6%Sea
Italy0.172.4%Sea
South Korea0.152%Sea
Germany0.141.9%Sea
Belgium0.141.9%Air

Overview 1995–2024

In 2024, Ethiopia accounted for 0.01% of world exports, compared with 0.01% in 1995.

Exports and imports

Exports grew 5.5-fold since 1995

USD billions (current). Bars: trade balance (green surplus, red deficit).

  • Exports 3.2
  • Imports 7.2
  • Balance -4

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearExportsImportsTrade balance
1995$584 million$1.6 billion-$1 billion
1996$461 million$1.1 billion-$659 million
1997$706 million$1.6 billion-$940 million
1998$707 million$2 billion-$1.3 billion
1999$513 million$2 billion-$1.4 billion
2000$593 million$1.6 billion-$1 billion
2001$500 million$2 billion-$1.5 billion
2002$545 million$1.9 billion-$1.4 billion
2003$675 million$2.8 billion-$2.2 billion
2004$797 million$3.3 billion-$2.5 billion
2005$956 million$4.9 billion-$3.9 billion
2006$968 million$5.8 billion-$4.8 billion
2007$1.4 billion$6.3 billion-$4.9 billion
2008$1.7 billion$9.1 billion-$7.4 billion
2009$1.6 billion$8.6 billion-$7 billion
2010$1.9 billion$9.3 billion-$7.4 billion
2011$2.3 billion$9.9 billion-$7.6 billion
2012$2.6 billion$13 billion-$10.4 billion
2013$2.6 billion$12.7 billion-$10.2 billion
2014$3.1 billion$17 billion-$13.9 billion
2015$3.3 billion$17.7 billion-$14.4 billion
2016$3.1 billion$18.3 billion-$15.2 billion
2017$3.3 billion$17.3 billion-$14.1 billion
2018$2.8 billion$16.4 billion-$13.6 billion
2019$3.4 billion$16.2 billion-$12.8 billion
2020$3.7 billion$14.4 billion-$10.8 billion
2021$4.5 billion$18.2 billion-$13.7 billion
2022$4.5 billion$19.6 billion-$15.1 billion
2023$4 billion$20.5 billion-$16.5 billion
2024$3.2 billion$7.2 billion-$4 billion

World rank

Ethiopia fell from 124th to 133rd among the world's exporters

Rank among 222 countries by export value (1st at the top).

  • 124th in 1995
  • 133rd in 2024

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearRank
1995124th
1996138th
1997127th
1998127th
1999141st
2000143rd
2001147th
2002146th
2003149th
2004145th
2005145th
2006147th
2007142nd
2008143rd
2009139th
2010136th
2011138th
2012135th
2013138th
2014132nd
2015123rd
2016126th
2017129th
2018134th
2019132nd
2020128th
2021127th
2022133rd
2023137th
2024133rd

What it sells

Its top export group is still coffee, tea and spices: 46% in 2024

% of exports by Harmonized System chapter.

  • Other 12%
  • Mechanical machinery 2%
  • Oil, gas and coal 3%
  • Woven clothing 5%
  • Knitted clothing 6%
  • Vegetables 6%
  • Live plants and flowers 10%
  • Oilseeds and grains 11%
  • Coffee, tea and spices 46%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Chapter19952024
Coffee, tea and spices52.3%45.7%
Oilseeds and grains5.3%11.2%
Live plants and flowers0.09%10%
Vegetables4.3%6%
Knitted clothing0.01%5.6%
Woven clothing0.21%4.5%
Oil, gas and coal2.2%2.7%
Mechanical machinery3.6%2.1%
Other32.1%12.1%

Who it trades with

China went from 2% to 34% of Ethiopia's trade

% of total trade (exports + imports) with each partner.

  • China 34%
  • France 8%
  • United States 8%
  • India 5%
  • United Kingdom 4%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
China1.7%34%
France4.1%8.3%
United States10.8%7.6%
India2.1%5.1%
United Kingdom6.1%4.3%

Production hubs

Largest industrial emission sources (Climate TRACE, 2025)

  • Lemi Cement PlantCement · 2.2 Mt CO₂e
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Largest economic production hubs (gridded GDP, 2024)

  • Addis Ababa$60 billion (PPP, 2021 dollars)
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Sources and methodology

Sources and licenses

Methodology

Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), in current US dollars, with exports and imports reconciled between countries. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Ranks are computed among the countries with data each year. Services are not included. Data up to 2024.

Neighboring countries

Main partners

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