Ethiopia’s status as a landlocked nation, compounded by severe port-related constraints, costs the country between USD 19 billion and USD 31 billion annually in lost GDP. These inefficiencies have scaled in tandem with Ethiopia’s economic expansion, according to a landmark study by the Ethiopian Policy Studies Institute (PSI). The research, titled “Reclaiming Sovereignty at Sea: The Historical, Geopolitical, and Economic Imperatives Behind Ethiopia’s Legal Claim to Sovereign Port Access,” was recently reviewed during a validation workshop hosted by PSI’s senior directorate. The findings suggest that by 2024, losses related to landlockedness accounted for a staggering 13 to 23 percent of Ethiopia’s total GDP. The study characterizes these costs as a permanent tax on Ethiopian trade that increases in absolute terms as trade volumes expand.

Source: Ethiopian News February 14, 2026 14:20 UTC