In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ethiopian Civil War and communist purges hindered its economy but it has since recovered and,  has the largest economy by GDP in East Africa. However, it remains one of the world's poorest countries, facing poverty, hunger, corruption, weak infrastructure, poor respect for human rights, and limited access to health and education, with a literacy rate of only 49%, ranking it in the worst quartile on the Human Development Index.