UP to 27% of the active urban population in Ethiopia is unemployed, most of them aged between 15 and 24, according to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) official. Assefa Bequehe ascribed the unemployment problem partly to “the sluggish performance of the Ethiopian economy over the last 20 or 25 years.” The Horn of Africa country had also experienced a rapid population growth. According to World Bank estimates, Ethiopia in 2000 had a population of 62.8-million. The Ethiopian government last week submitted to parliament a budget of $1.775-billion for the 2001-2002 fiscal year, centered on the fight against poverty and economic development. – AFP