Ethiopia presents a compelling paradox in sustainable development: despite decades of rapid economic growth, improvements in human well-being have not been commensurate. This study examines the role of global economic integration in resolving this paradox by analyzing the impact of trade openness (TOP) and foreign direct investment (FDI) on human development in Ethiopia from 1991 to 2021. We hypothesize that this paradox arises because the benefits of trade and FDI operate primarily through an income-growth channel, with a weaker direct effect on health and education capabilities. Moving beyond the standard Human Development Index (HDI), we construct a modified index (HDI*) that excludes the income component, allowing us to disentangle direct effects on health and education from indirect effects mediated through economic growth. Using the ARDL bounds testing approach, we find that TOP and FDI have significantly stronger long-run effects on standard HDI (0.343 and 0.214, respectively) than on the non-income HDI* (0.235 and 0.136). This indicates that approximately one-third (31.5%) of TOP’s and over one-third (36.4%) of FDI’s total benefit is income-mediated, while the remainder reflects direct capability enhancement. The analysis further reveals that institutional quality significantly amplifies these benefits, whereas inflation specifically undermines non-income dimensions, highlighting the acute vulnerability of social sectors to macroeconomic instability. We conclude that the Ethiopian paradox stems not from a failure of growth but from its weak translation into direct, sustainable gains in health and education. We recommend policies to strengthen institutional governance, attract FDI into health and education sectors, lower trade barriers for agricultural exports, and use trade agreements to address structural trade deficits and promote sustainable human development.