161. The representative of the State party, replying to the questions raised by members of the Committee, stated, with regard to demographic composition, that Ethiopia, which was among the least developed countries, did not have either the financial resources or the know-how needed to conduct a census of its population and noted with interest the suggestion made on that subject by members of the Committee. 162. With regard to the economic reform and the shortage of food, the representative, after acknowledging that 4 million PerSOnS Were Currently threatened by famine in the north of the country< said that the main difficulty was not obtaining food but bringing it to the regions affected by the fighting and that his Government was doing its utmost to save the threatened populations. He described the measures taken by the Ethiopian Government to that end. As to the -41- term "nationality", he stated that the expression referred to any ethnic group of persons speaking the same language and inhabiting a specific region. 163. Concerning the questions raised in connection with article 2 of the Convention, the representative stated that the disparity in levels of development was essentially a legacy of the former rhgime, since no modern infrastructure had existed in the outlying areas of the country in 1974. The Ethiopian Government haa set itself the aim of helping those previously neglected regions to catch up and had introduced a number of projects and initiatives in order to remedy the situation. 164, With respect to article 5 of the Convention, the representative said that his Government accorded high priority to education and that, since the literacy campaign had been launched in 1979, the proportion of the population who knew how to read and write had increased from 7 per cent to 75 per cent. Under that 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the demographic composition, economic reform, food shortage, and education in Ethiopia. It highlights the challenges faced by the country, such as a lack of financial resources and infrastructure, and the measures taken by the government to address these issues. The text also touches on the concept of nationality and the disparity in levels of development.

**Category**
Economic development, Education, Humanitarian aid and relief