THE 2011 LEGATUM PROSPERITY INDEX: Ethiopia Ranks 108 out of 110 Countries, Ranking Just Above Zimbabwe and Central African Republic

The ruling party in Ethiopia should be advised by friends of Ethiopia and people of goodwill in Western Europe and North America to spend more resources on developments that benefit the people instead of building its defense arsenals by buying more tanks from Ukraine, Russia and other former Soviet Republics and building defense industries with the help of North Korea, in order to maintain its grip on power. It should also be advised to open the democratic space so that legitimate opposition parties (the loyal opposition) and civil society organizations, which are the building blocks of a democratic system, would flourish and get strong. If the current situation is allowed to continue, the future of Ethiopia as a united and viable state could be at stake.