Ethiopia collected more than 704.4 billion birr in government revenue over the past six months, beating its half year target and delivering one of the strongest fiscal performances on record, according to figures released by the Government Communication Service.

The strongest contributions came from domestic taxation and foreign trade, with 362.4 billion birr raised from internal taxes and more than 341.9 billion birr generated from customs duties and trade related taxes, according to figures released by the Government Communication Service.

The total comfortably exceeded the government’s own half year projection of 640.4 billion birr, meaning revenue performance reached 110 percent of the plan set by the Ministry of Revenues.

Compared with the same period last year, government income rose by 63.7 billion birr, highlighting a faster pace of revenue growth as Ethiopia seeks to strengthen its fiscal position through domestic resource mobilisation.

The Government Communication Service said the performance was driven by ongoing reforms aimed at widening the tax base, improving compliance and strengthening administration, and described the result as the highest revenue collection recorded in the country’s history.