The Changing Transition to Adulthood in Ethiopia over the Past Three Decades

Kassahun A. Admassu, Brown University

Over the last three decades, Ethiopia has undergone significant social, economic and political changes that have a profound impact on young people’s transition to adulthood. Long-term social changes include urbanization, expansion of formal education, emergence of market economy and a rapid growth of young population. In addition, short-term social disruptions from political instability and economic recession in the past few decades pose paramount difficulties and uncertainty for young people’s transition to adulthood in Ethiopia. However, the study on transition to adulthood remains poorly documented in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is, thus, to fill this research gap by analyzing the patterns and changes of transition to adulthood using data from national population censuses. The result shows that young people in Ethiopian have increasingly postponed their transition to adulthood because of extended participation of youth in the formal education, lack of employment opportunities, and delayed entry into marriage.