UN-Habitat is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1978 to address the issues of urban growth, it is a knowledgeable institution on urban development processes, and understands the aspirations of cities and their residents.

In Ethiopia, the profiling was undertaken under the leadership of national and local authorities. This initiative has been carried out locally in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Ambo, as well as nationally. The Ethiopia National Profile focuses on the findings of a desk-study, interviews with key actors, and country-wide consultations with key urban actors and institutions.

In Ethiopia, the profiling was undertaken under the leadership of national and local authorities. This initiative has been carried out locally in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Ambo, as well as nationally. The Ethiopia National Profile focuses on the findings of a desk-study, interviews with key actors, and country-wide consultations with key urban actors and institutions.

This study aims to examine current land access and youth livelihood opportunities in Southern Ethiopia.  We used survey data from the relatively land abundant districts of Oromia Region and from the land scarce districts of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) Region. Although access to agricultural land is a constitutional right for rural residents of Ethiopia, we found that youth in the rural south have limited potential to obtain agricultural land that can be a basis for viable livelihood. The law prohibits the purchase and sale of land in Ethiopia.

Secure land and property rights for all are essential to reducing poverty because they underpin economic development and social inclusion. Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in urban and rural areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods. Although many countries have completely restructured their legal and regulatory framework related to land and they have tried to harmonize modern statutory law with customary ones, millions of people around the world still have insecure land tenure and property rights.

Ethiopia remains one of the least urbanized countries in Africa and almost 80 per cent of the population reside in rural areas where they eke out a living from subsistence agriculture. However, rapid population growth, a sluggish agricultural performance and increased rural-urban migration have been countering this. The pace of urban growth is expected to  accelerate in the coming decades and this will largely be in small- and medium-size cities with low resilienceto climate change shocks.

Hosting 30 percent of the urban population of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and the diplomatic centre of Africa, is one of the fastest growing cities on the continent. Its population is currently thought to be 4 million. Its geographic location, combined with its political and socio-economic status have made it a melting pot to hundreds of thousands of people coming from all corners of the country in search of employment opportunities and services.