Ethiopia is a land-locked country with no direct access to the sea and is therefore dependent on ports in neighbouring countries. In 2019 and 2020, some 3 million tons of freight were transported to Ethiopia via sea. The main corridor into Ethiopia is through Djibouti port for commercial, government and humanitarian cargo.  More than 90% of the goods handled at Djibouti Port are destined for Ethiopia. Alternative ports are Port Sudan, Berbera, Mombasa Port and Rwanda. Ports in Southern Somali and Eritrea remain inaccessible due to ongoing conflict.  

As a landlocked country, Ethiopia also utilizes Dry Ports to facilitate the transport of commodities. As of 2023, 9 Dry Ports can be found in Ethiopia: Modjo, Kality, Gelan, Semera, Dire Dawa, Kombolcha, Mekelle, Hawassa and Woreta.

According to the Ethiopia Roads Authority (ERA), the total road network in Ethiopia consists of 155,830 km, including the woreda and municipality roads. From this, the federal road network makes up 18.3%, representing some 28,608.5 km of roads. The Federal Road network is made up of 57.25% of asphalt roads and 42.75% of gravel roads. The latest available information from the Ethiopia Roads Authority (ERA) also reports that there are 5,636 bridges and 42,275 culverts accounted for in the Federal Road Network.

Rail transport in Ethiopia currently connect the Djibouti Port to Addis Ababa, with some 750 km of railway passing through key towns such as Dire Dawa. According to the Ethiopia Logistics Sectorial Association, 968 thousand tons of freight were moved by rail in 2021 and 2022.

 The Government of Ethiopia also has ongoing plans to expand railway capacity in country, connecting cities of Awash to Weldiya, Wlediya to Mekelle, Modio to Hawassa and Sebeta to Ambo. 

Ethiopia does not have any major river ports. Gambella Region has the Baro River which has been utilized during the rainy season for transporting emergency supplies to the Upper Nile State of South Sudan in 2012 and 2013.