The State of Gambella
The State of Gambella is composed of two administrative zones and eight woredas. |
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Dire Dawa Administrative Council
The Dire Dawa administrative council consists of the city of Dire Dawa and the surrounding rural areas. The council has no administrative zones but one woreda - Gurgura woreda. There are 4 Keftegnas, 24 urban kebeles and 28 rural peasants associations. Dire Dawa is the capital city of the administrative council.
Location
Dire Dawa is located in the eastern part of the country enclosed by the State of Somalia and the State of Oromia. It is found at a distance of 515 Kilometres from Addis Ababa.
Area
The administration has an estimated area of 128,802 hectares.
Population
According to the 1994 census, the total population was 151,864, of which 127,286 were males and 124,578 females. The proportion of males and females is about 50.5 to 49.5 percent, respectively. The urban residents of the administrative council number 173,188 while its rural residents 78,676. Besides, there were 52,245 households in Dire Dawa administrative council with an average of 4.7 persons per household.
According to the census result, the major ethnic groups of the residents of Dire Dawa administrative council were found to be 48% Oromo, 27.7% Amahra, 13.9% Somali, 4.5% Guragie (2.3% Sebat Bet, 0.8% Sodo and 1.4% Silte) and 5.9% others. Amharic is the official language of the administrative council.
From the census of 1994, the religious composition of the population of Dire Dawa administrative council indicates that 63.2% were Muslims, 34.5% Orthodox Christians, 1.5% Protestants, 0.7% Catholics, and 0.1% followers of other religious groups.
Topography and Climate
Dire Dawa Administrative Council is found at a distance of 515-KM southeast of Addis Ababa. Dire Dawa is a grouped in the Kolla and semi-kolla climatic zone. The north eastern part of Dire Dawa is relatively sparsely populated lowland exhibiting agro-pastoral and pastoral system, and the southeastern part of the administration comprises of the escarpment with mixed farming system.
Dire Dawa lies between 1000 to 2000 meters above sea level. The average monthly temperature is 24.8 degree Celsius. The average annual rainfall amounts to 604 mm.
Livestock
There are 61,420 cattle, 37,570 sheep, 79,880 goats, 11,910 camel and 67,130 poultry in Dire Dawa.
Agriculture
There is 10,370 hectares of farmland that produces maize, sorghum, chat, coffee, and various kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Cultural Heritage and Tourism
The city has cultural as well as modern tourist attraction sites. These include Legeoda Cave and mural paintings, the Ethio-Djibouti railway, kezira (the cultural market place).
Investment
The city has conducive environment for investment. Currently there are 136 investors working in various sectors. Of these, 24 are in agriculture, 33 in industry, 17 in commerce, 34 in real estate, 5 in hotel and tourism, 2 in construction, 6 in transport, 11 in education, and 4 are in health.
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The state of amhara
CAPITAL CITY
The capital city of the State of Amhara is Bahir-Dar.
LOCATION
The Sate of Amhara is located in the north western and north central part of Ethiopia. The State shares common borders with the state of Tigray in the north, Afar in the east, Oromiya in the south, Benishangul/Gumuz in the south west, and the Republic of Sudan in the west.
AREA
The State of Amhara covers an estimated area of 170,752 square kilometres.
POPULATION
According to the 1994 census, the region's population was 13,834,297 of which 6,947,546 were males and 6,886,751 females. The urban residents of the State number 1,265,315 while its rural residents were 12,568,982 (90% of the total population.)
Based on the 1994 census result, of the total population of the State, 81.5% were Orthodox Christians, 18.1% Muslims, and 0.1% Protestants.
Regarding ethnic composition, the majority of the population is Amhara, which is estimated to be 91.2%. In addition, the ethnic composition includes Oromo (3%), Agew/Awi (2.7%), Kimant (1.2%), and Agew/Kamyr (1%).
MAJOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
About 85% of the people are engaged in agriculture. The State is one of the major Teff (staple food) producing areas in the country. Barely, wheat, oil seeds, sorghum, maize, wheat, oats, beans and peas are major crops produced in large quantities.
Cash crops such as cotton, sesame, sunflower, and sugarcane grow in the vast and virgin tract of the region's lowlands. The water resources from Lake Tana and all the rivers found in the region provide immense potential for irrigation development.
About 450,000 hectares of arable land is irrigable and suitable, especially for horticultural development.
TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
The State of Amhara is topographically divided into two main parts, namely the highlands and lowlands. The highlands are above 1500 meters above sea level and comprise the largest part of the northern and eastern parts of the region. The highlands are also characterized by chains of mountains and plateaus. Ras Dejen (4620 m), the highest peak in the country, Guna (4236 m), Choke (4184m) and Abune – Yousef (4190m) are among the mountain peaks that are located in the highland parts of the region.
The lowland part covers mainly the western and eastern parts with an altitude between 500-1500 meters above sea level. Areas beyond 2,300 meters above sea level fall within the "Dega" climatic Zone, and areas between the 1,500-2,300 meter above sea level contour fall within the "Woina Dega" climatic zone; and areas below 1,500 contour fall within the "Kolla" or hot climatic zones. The Dega, Woina Dega and Kolla parts of the region constitute 25%, 44% and 31% of the total area of the region, respectively.
The annual mean temperature for most parts of the region lies between 15°C-21°C. The State receives the highest percentage (80%) of the total rainfall in the country. The highest rainfall occurs during the summer season, which starts in mid June and ends in early September.
RIVERS AND LAKES
The State of Amhara is divided mainly by three river basins, namely the Abbay, Tekezze and Awash drainage basins. The Blue Nile (Abbay) river is the largest of all covering approximately 172,254 Km2. Its total length to its junction with the white Nile in Khartoum is 1,450 Km, of which 800 km is within Ethiopia. The drainage-basin of the Tekeze river is about 88,800 km2. In addition, Anghereb, Millie, Kessem and Jema are among the major national rivers, which are found in this region.
Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia is located at centre of the region. It covers an area of 3,6000 km2. Besides, other crater lakes like Zengeni, Gudena Yetilba, Ardibo (75km2) and Logia (35 km2) are small lakes that are found in the region.
The rivers and lakes of the region have immense potential for hydroelectric power generation, irrigation and fishery development.
LIVESTOCK
The estimated livestock population of the region is 9.1 million cattle, 8.4 million sheep and goats, 1.6 million equines, and 8.5 million poultry. About 40% of the livestock population of the country are found in this region. The huge livestock potential of this region gives ample opportunity for meat and milk production, food processing as well as leather and wool production.
FAUNA
Walia ibex, Semien fox, Gelada-baboon, Grey Duiker, Klipspringer, Hyenas and Corocodile are among the twenty-one species (three endemic) that are found in the region, especially at the Semien mountain national park. Wild fowls, Francolins, Pelicans, Cranes, Ibises, and Stocks are among the birds that are found in the region.
MINERALS
The Sate of Amhara has mineral resources such as coal, shell, limestone, lignite, gypsum, gemstone, silica, sulfur and bentonite. Hot springs and mineral water are also found in the region.
TOURISM AND HERITAGE
The 12th century Rock-Hewn churches of Lalibela, and the palaces in Gondar the world known heritages of the country. The traditional mural paintings and hand craft, the preserved corpse of the royalty found in the ancient monasteries in Lake Tana, as well as the Semien mountains national park, which shelters the endemic Walia ibex are spectacular tourist attractions, Three tourist attractions found in the region are registered in the UNESCO list of world heritages. Besides these known heritages, the Blue Nile Falls, the caves and unique stones in northern Showa, and the Merto Le Mariam church are special tourist attractions.
INVESTMENT
Until May 1998, 362 investment projects have been licensed in the State of Amhara. The total amount of capital invested is 2.8 billion Birr. These investment projects will provide employment opportunity for 75,883 persons. Licenses were given in the areas of agriculture, industry, hotel and tourism, real estate commerce and social services. Among the main projects include the steel and brewery factory in Kombolcha.
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The State of Afar
The State of Afar consists of 5 administrative zones, 29 woredas and 28 towns.
The rural area has 326 farmers associations, while the urban part has 32 kebeles. Afar is the origin of human species, where a 4.4 million years old humanoid is recently discovered.
CAPITAL CITY
The capital city of the state of Afar is Aysaita.
LOCATION
Afar is located in the eastern part of Ethiopia. The region has common boundaries with the State of Eritrea in the north-east, with Tigray in the north-west, with Amhara in the south-west, with Oromia in the south, with the State of Somalia in the south-east and with the Republic of Djibouti in the east.
AREA
The State of Afar has got an estimated area of 270,000 square kilometres.
POPULATION
According to the census, the population of the state of Afar as of 22nd July 1996 was 1,106,383 of which 626,839 were males and according to the 1994 census, is estimated at 1,106,383 of which 626,839 are males and 479,544 are females. Rural population is about 1,020,504 (92.2%), while the urban population is counted at 85,879.
The major ethnic compositions are Afar 91.8%, Amhara 4.5%, Argoba 0.92%, Tigraway 0.82%,Oromo 0.7%, Wolaita 0. 45%, and Hadiya 0.013%.
Regarding religion 96% of the population are Muslim, 3.86% Orthodox Christians, 0.43% Protestants, 0.09% Catholics and others constitute 0.02%.
The Afarigna language is predominantly (90.8%) spoken in the region. It is also the working language of the state. Other major languages spoken in the state includes Amharic 6.68%, Tigrigna 0.74%, Oromifa 0.68%, Argobigna 0.4% and Wolaitigna 0.26%.
MAJOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
90% the states of population is leading a pastoral life by rearing camels, cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys. Agriculture such as production of maize, beans, sorghum, papaya, banana, and orange is also practiced. Cotton production is also typical to the region. Commerce, especially of salt, is another area of occupation.
TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
The state is found in the rift valley. Most of the region is flat land. The altitude of the region ranges from 116 meter below sea level (where one of the highest temperature [500C] on earth has been recorded) to 1600 meters above sea level. The lowland areas of Afar are generally below 1600 meters above sea level. The highest peak, mount Mussa-Alle is just 2063 meters above sea level. The temperature of Afar varies from 25°C during the rainy season (September-March) to 48°C during the dry season (March-September). The average annual rainfall registered for 11 years at Dubti station was 187.9mm.
RIVERS AND LAKES
The Awash river, Mille and Logia which are tributaries of the Awash river traverse the region. Abbe Bil, Afambo and Adebel lakes which are connected to the last section of the river Awash, are found in the region. They form an important habitat for river and lake Fauna.
MINERALS
Salt, Potash, Sulfur, Manganese, Bentonite, Aluminium, Marble, Gypsum and Petroleum are possible major resources of the region.
Tendaho geothermal energy is the most promising power source for electricity. The state has also a plausible source for solar energy.
TOURISM AND HERITAGE
Awash natural reserve, Yagundu-Ras national park and the Dallol depression are expressions of Ethiopia's desert beauty. Some of the attractions of this game reserve include Abyssinian wild ass, Grevy's zebra, beisa oryx, crocodiles, lions, grater kudu, wild (bat eared) fox, wild cat, cheetah, Grant's gazelle, and warthog.
Besides, Hadar, where a 4.4 million years old humanoid is recently discovered is found in this state.
INVESTMENT
Eighty-one private investors of which 60 are active, have been given licenses in areas of agriculture, construction, small scale industry and services. The total amount of investment is Birr 551.2 million. 305,947 persons will benefit from the regular and temporary employment opportunity created by these investment projects.
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Rigional Information
