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.

• Urban population will double within the next 15 years
• National Urban Policy exists since 2005, recognising the link between urbanisation, industrialisation and structural transformation
• Major investments occurred in urban areas during the last 20 years especially regarding housing (condominium programme) and infrastructure development
• Urban growth is largely unplanned and uncoordinated

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.

Consultation participants agreed to address the salient urban issues including poverty, insecurity, corruption, pollution and crime - all problems that negatively affect investments and economic development. A consensus was reached on priority interventions in the form of programme and project proposals to be implemented.

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.

Consultation participants agreed to address the salient urban issues including poverty, insecurity, corruption, pollution and crime - all problems that negatively affect investments and economic development. A consensus was reached on priority interventions in the form of programme and project proposals to be implemented.

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. We found that land access through allocation from authorities is virtually nonexistent while land that can be obtained from parents through inheritance or gift is too small to establish a meaningful livelihood.

The land rental market has restrictions, including on the number of years land can be rented out. Perhaps as a result of limited land access, the youth have turned their back on agriculture. Our study shows that only nine percent of youth in these rural areas plan to pursue farming as a livelihood. The majority are planning non-agricultural livelihoods. We also found a significant rural-urban migration among the youth and especially in areas with severe agricultural land scarcity. Our econometric analyses show that youth from families with larger land holdings are less likely to choose a non-agricultural livelihood as well as less likely to migrate to urban areas. We suggest here some measures to improve rural livelihood such as creation of non-farm employment opportunities and improvement of land rental markets. We also argue that as a certain level of rural-urban migration is unavoidable, investigating youth migration is essential to design policies that help the migrating youth as well as the host communities.

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.

This report addresses and assesses the issue of tenure security  in several countries where government, civil society, the private sector and development cooperation initiatives have been implemented for decades. The selected case studies from fifteen (15) countries (Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala) ensure not only ageographic balance but they also represent countries with different socio-economic and land-related histories and that have followed different pathways. The studies’ key findings underline the still precariousstate of tenure security in many countries.

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.

High rate of unemployment (31%), concentration of slum dwellings, and poor housing, infrastructure and sanitary development, characterize Addis Ababa more than the few good features it posses. The challenge is not only to reverse current situation through balancing the economic growth with the population increase, but also to catch up with decades of neglect.