Specifics and problems of countries in the Horn of Africa

The paper is concerned with the problems of countries in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia). The first part provides general geographical, historical and demographic information about the Horn of Africa. Further it analyzes the political and security situation in this region, with a special focus on piracy in Somalia. The second part, in particular deals, with economic problems and region specifics problems such as an economic dependence on agriculture and the impact of climate change, further macro economical development, foreign aid, standard of living and the fall-out from HIV/AIDS on poverty. The last part describes territorial and commodity structure of foreign trade with special an emphasis on Ethiopia, where important role has coffee growing.