Country agriculture profile · Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia
Ethiopian agriculture is dominated by smallholder, rainfed, ox-plough farming and is organised largely by altitude, from the cool highlands down to the hot lowlands. The highlands support cereals such as teff, wheat, maize, sorghum and barley alongside pulses and oilseeds, while coffee — a crop for which Ethiopia is the centre of origin — is the leading agricultural export, grown in the southern and western highlands. The country carries one of the largest livestock populations in Africa, integrated with cropping through draught oxen in highland mixed systems and sustained by pastoralism in the arid lowlands. Dependence on seasonal rains leaves output highly exposed to drought.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Cool highlands (dega)
- Temperate midlands (weyna dega)
- Hot lowlands (kolla)
- Arid and semi-arid periphery
Agroecological zones
- Highland mixed cereal and pulse systems
- Enset-based southern highlands
- Coffee forest and highland coffee zones
- Lowland pastoral rangelands (Afar, Somali, Borana)
Dominant crop systems
- Smallholder rainfed highland cereals — teff, wheat, maize, sorghum and barley
- Arabica coffee in the southern and western highlands, the leading agricultural export
- Enset ("false banana")-based systems in the densely populated southern highlands
- Pulses and oilseeds grown in rotation with cereals
- Ox-plough smallholder mixed farming across the highlands
Major livestock systems
- Highland mixed crop-livestock farming using oxen for draught power, with cattle, sheep and goats
- Lowland pastoralism of cattle, camels, goats and sheep in the arid periphery
- Smallholder poultry and small ruminants integrated with cropping
Irrigation: Irrigation remains a small share of cultivated land; smallholder agriculture is overwhelmingly rainfed and dependent on the main (kiremt) rains, although government programmes have promoted smallholder irrigation and lowland commercial schemes.
Latest verified data
Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land | 34.08 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 14.53 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 2,631.6 | kg per hectare | 2024 |
| Livestock production index | 116.06 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 34.77 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 61.01 | % of total employment | 2024 |
| Rural population | 76.38 | % of total population | 2024 |
| Fertilizer consumption | 45.32 | kg per hectare of arable land | 2023 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Commodity market data
5,137 official observations across 52 commodities. Figures are shown on each commodity page with the unit, status and release its source published.
| Commodity | Metrics recorded |
|---|---|
| Almonds | Imports, Import value |
| Avocados | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value |
| Bananas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Barley Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Exports, Export value, Import value |
| Black Peppercorns | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Cashew Nuts | Imports, Import value |
| Chickpeas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Cotton Lint | Production, Beginning stocks, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Import value |
| Cottonseed | Production, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Cucumbers | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dates | Imports, Import value |
| Dried Chillies | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dried Tobacco Leaf | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Beans | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Bulb Onions | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Peas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Flax Fibre | Imports, Import value |
| Flaxseed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value |
| Fresh Apples | Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Oranges | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Pineapples | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Strawberries | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Tomatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Green Coffee | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Groundnuts | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
| Head Cabbage | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Hen Eggs | Production, Index value, Imports, Import value |
| Jute Fibre | Imports, Import value |
| Lentils | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Maize Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value |
| Milled Rice | Domestic use, Imports, Exports, Export value, Import value |
| Millet Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Feed use, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Oat Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Pistachios | Imports, Import value |
| Rapeseed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Index value, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Raw Cow Milk | Production, Index value, Imports, Import value |
| Raw Wool | Production, Index value, Imports, Import value |
| Rice Paddy | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Imports, Import value |
| Safflower Seed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
| Sesame Seed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Sorghum Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value |
| Soybeans | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value |
| Sugar Beet | Index value |
| Sugarcane | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
| Sunflower Seed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Sweet Potatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Tea Leaf | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Vanilla Beans | Imports, Import value |
| Walnuts | Imports, Import value |
| Ware Potatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Wheat Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value |
| Yams | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
Cereal yield over time
Show data table
| Year | kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 2,066.1 |
| 2014 | 2,227.9 |
| 2015 | 2,337.1 |
| 2016 | 2,326.6 |
| 2017 | 2,518.7 |
| 2018 | 2,521.6 |
| 2019 | 2,711.2 |
| 2020 | 2,712.8 |
| 2021 | 2,660.6 |
| 2022 | 2,690.9 |
| 2023 | 2,656.3 |
| 2024 | 2,631.6 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Derived indicator
Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 42.6 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (14.5) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (34.1). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.
Documented crops & livestock
Agricultural institutions
- Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) — Federal agricultural research institute coordinating the national system.
- Ministry of Agriculture — Federal ministry responsible for agricultural policy and extension.
- Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) — Government institute for agricultural transformation, formerly the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA).
Data coverage & limitations
Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.
| Layer | Status | What is held |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural authorities | Covered | 1 record |
| Official registries | Not yet indexed | — |
| Compliance requirements | Not yet indexed | — |
| Support programmes | Not yet indexed | — |
| Biosecurity listings | Not yet indexed | — |
| Variety registrations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Input authorisations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Extension resources | Not yet indexed | — |
| Market statistics | Covered | 349 records |
| Soil survey observations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Border requirements | Not yet indexed | — |
| Farm economics figures | Not yet indexed | — |
| Climate, drought and water values | Covered | 58 records |
This page describes what AgricultureID has indexed, not what exists. A layer shown as not yet indexed means nobody has looked, and never that the thing is absent in that country. How coverage is worked out.
- Statistics are dated, versioned and periodically revised as new agricultural survey rounds arrive.
- National definitions differ, and nationally important crops such as teff and enset map poorly onto international crop categories.
- Heavy reliance on rainfed smallholder farming makes production strongly drought-sensitive.
- Livestock numbers and smallholder output are difficult to measure precisely, so estimates carry wide uncertainty.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- Authoritative
Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Cited for: Production, land use and livestock context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12