2008 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Country Facts: Statistical context for each country.

Excessive executive branch control and influence over much of government and the media characterizes the governance challenges in Ethiopia. As the assessment notes: "Rather than a question of regulations to promote accountability, the problem in Ethiopia is that the party and the state are virtually the same. Furthermore, state and/or party-owned business dominate key sectors of the economy." The courts remain under pressure from government and cannot review the constitutionality of laws; only the legislature has that authority, and it remains largely controlled by the ruling party. The financing of political parties and candidates is virtually unregulated, and a proposed "NGO Law" introduced in the fall of 2008 would make life even more difficult for independent media and anti-corruption groups, especially in raising funds from international donors.