Ethiopia has expanded its national power grid in recent years, but a new Afrobarometer dispatch shows that most citizens still do not have reliable electricity, with rural communities bearing the heaviest burden.

The survey, released on July 14, 2026, found that only 43 percent of Ethiopians were connected to the national electricity grid in 2023, while just 26 percent had electricity that worked most or all of the time. Rural residents were far less likely than urban dwellers to have access to the grid or a dependable power supply, underscoring a wide urban-rural gap in service delivery.

According to the report, only 20 percent of rural Ethiopians were connected to the grid, compared with 88 percent of urban residents. When reliability is taken into account, just 9 percent of rural residents could count on electricity most or all of the time, versus 59 percent in urban areas. The findings suggest that access remains uneven even where the grid is present.

Afrobarometer said electricity ranks among the most important concerns facing the country. Twenty percent of respondents listed power supply among their top three national priorities, placing it fourth behind economic management, water supply and roads or infrastructure. Nearly two-thirds of citizens, 64 percent, said the government was performing badly on electricity provision.

The survey also found that dissatisfaction was highest in rural areas, among poorer citizens and among those with lower levels of education. Rural respondents were much more likely than urban residents to say the government was handling electricity badly, reflecting long-standing gaps in access and reliability outside major towns and cities.

The report said Ethiopia’s electricity challenge persists despite the country’s significant renewable energy potential and major investments in hydropower, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. While the country has made progress in expanding its grid, experts cited in the report said weak financing, maintenance problems and state control over generation have slowed broader access and service quality.

Afrobarometer’s findings suggest that improving generation capacity alone will not be enough. The report argues that electricity access must reach households more consistently, especially in rural areas where the shortage is most severe and where lack of power limits economic opportunities, business growth and household welfare.

The survey was conducted between May 25 and June 22, 2023, among 2,400 adult Ethiopians. Afrobarometer said the sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

The organization concluded that electricity remains a major service-delivery issue and a key test of government performance. It said Ethiopia’s electrification gains will only matter if they translate into reliable power for households across the country, particularly those in rural communities.

Ethiopia is deepening cooperation with Italy to expand access to modern agricultural machinery in a move officials say could help improve productivity and support the country’s drive toward food self-sufficiency.

The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, together with the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Trade Agency, has launched a partnership aimed at linking Ethiopian importers with leading Italian manufacturers ahead of EIMA International 2026, a major agricultural machinery exhibition set for November in Bologna.

At a press conference in Addis Ababa, officials said the initiative is intended to help close Ethiopia’s mechanization gap, which continues to limit output in a sector that remains central to the economy. Agriculture accounts for more than one-third of GDP and more than half of export earnings, but much of the work is still carried out with traditional methods.

Kenenisa Lemi, secretary general of the chamber, said agricultural modernization is a key priority under Ethiopia’s homegrown economic reform agenda. He said reaching food self-sufficiency will require greater private-sector investment in high-efficiency technology for farms.

Ethiopia has about 60 million hectares of arable land, but low mechanization continues to hold back production. Officials say improved access to tractors, harvesting equipment, irrigation systems and precision farming tools could help farmers raise yields and cope better with climate-related pressures.

EIMA International 2026 will be organized by FederUnacoma, the Italian federation of agricultural machinery manufacturers, under the theme “Design Agriculture Future.” The event is expected to feature more than 1,800 exhibitors across 375,000 square meters of exhibition space.

Fabio Ricci, deputy director general of FederUnacoma, said the exhibition will showcase technologies that can help farmers manage climate change, soil degradation and high input costs through better resource use and higher efficiency.

The National Dialogue Conference opened on July 15, 2026, bringing together 4,000 representatives from across the country in a historic effort to lay the groundwork for possible constitutional reform.

The conference is expected to examine some of the most sensitive questions in the country’s political life, including federalism, citizenship and the constitutional amendment process. For years, the constitution has been at the center of political debate, with competing views over whether it has strengthened unity or deepened division.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the consultation is intended to ensure that any future constitutional changes are based on broad national consensus rather than the interests of successive political groups. He said the goal is to create a more stable constitutional order that cannot be easily altered or replaced.

A major focus of the dialogue is the balance between the right to self-determination and the responsibilities of shared national citizenship. Participants are also expected to review the definition of nations, nationalities and peoples under Article 39, Sub-Article 5, with the aim of aligning regional identities with a broader national framework.

The Prime Minister said past constitutional processes were often shaped by limited perspectives, and said the current assembly is meant to create a “social contract that future generations will honor.” He added that if the current generation of representatives can reach consensus, future constitutional changes should also pass through a similarly inclusive process.

The National Dialogue Conference is the result of consultations led by the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, which brought together representatives from more than 1,200 districts, as well as civil society groups, religious institutions, youth, women and marginalized communities.

The commission has outlined eight main agenda areas for discussion over at least three weeks. These include nation-building, government structure and electoral systems, federal cities, religious affairs, institutional building, social and economic issues, corruption and good governance, and peace-building.

Opening the conference, Chief Commissioner Mesfin Araya said Ethiopia has long faced difficult questions about politics, systems and competing opinions. He said differences of opinion are not a problem in themselves, but become dangerous when they are addressed through conflict instead of dialogue.

“We have reached this historic conference through careful, participatory and scientific preparations carried out by the commission since its inception,” he said, adding that the process of identifying participants, gathering agendas and raising public awareness had strengthened the conference’s credibility.

The dialogue is expected to tackle core national questions ranging from the supreme law to identity and citizenship. Its success will depend on whether representatives can move beyond narrow interests and help build a broader national consensus.

In his closing appeal, the chief commissioner urged participants and the wider public to engage sincerely in the process “for the sake of the country’s peace and for the next generation.”

Ethiopia is stepping up preparations to host the 32nd United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP32, in November 2027, in what officials say will be a major opportunity to position Addis Ababa as a hub for global climate diplomacy.

The country was unanimously selected by the Africa Group of Negotiators and formally recognized at COP30 in Brazil, paving the way for Ethiopia to take on one of the most significant roles in international climate negotiations. Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP32 President-Designate, is leading the national committee overseeing the conference’s planning, logistics and policy coordination.

The government says the hosting is a reflection of Ethiopia’s growing climate profile, built on initiatives such as the Green Legacy campaign and investments in renewable energy. But officials also acknowledge that the road to 2027 will be challenging, especially at a time of global instability, political tensions and energy crises.

Former COP21 President Laurent Fabius, who recently visited Addis Ababa, described the current international situation as a “dangerous paradox.” He said the world now faces mounting pressure to act on climate change while political will for tough measures continues to weaken in many countries.

Fabius said the priority should no longer be limited to announcing new commitments, but to ensuring that existing promises are actually implemented. He warned that climate diplomacy is becoming more difficult as countries are pulled in different political and economic directions, making consensus harder to achieve.

With about 50,000 delegates expected to attend COP32, Ethiopia sees the summit as a chance to reshape international perceptions of Africa’s role in the climate conversation. Officials want to show that the continent is not only suffering the effects of climate change, but also generating practical solutions that can be scaled globally.

The country’s strategy is expected to focus on turning climate pledges into real financing, strengthening fairness in the global green transition, and accelerating projects such as methane reduction, large-scale reforestation and clean cooking technologies.

Fabius said these are areas where meaningful progress can be made relatively quickly if governments, financiers and the private sector work together. He also stressed the importance of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which deals with carbon markets and international cooperation on emissions reduction.

According to Fabius, climate diplomacy has become inseparable from broader international relations, making the role of Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry especially important in the run-up to the conference. He said technical issues such as finance, mitigation and private-sector participation are common to all COP meetings, but the political context today is far more difficult than it was in 2015 when the Paris Agreement was adopted.

Even so, Fabius said climate conferences remain essential despite their imperfections. He argued that they provide a necessary platform for accountability and for keeping global attention on climate action, equity and adaptation financing.