Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region
 Flag of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region |
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 Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region |
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| Capital | Awasa |
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| Area | 112.343,19 km² |
| Population | 15,042,531 (2007) |
| Population density | 134 inhabitants/km² (2007) |
| ISO 3166-2 | ET-SN |
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of the former Regions 7-11 following the 1994 elections.[1] Its capital is Awasa.
The SNNPR borders Kenya to the south, the Ilemi Triangle (a region claimed by Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan) to the southwest, Sudan to the west, the Ethiopian region of Gambela to the north, and the Ethiopian region of Oromia to the north and east. Besides Awasa, the region's major cities and towns include Arba Minch, Bonga, Chencha, Dila, Irgalem, Mizan Teferi, Sodo, Wendo, and Worabe.
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[edit] Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the SNNPR has an estimated total population of 15,042,531, of whom 7,482,051 were men and 7,560,480 women. 13,496,821 or 89.72% of the population are estimated to be rural inhabitants, while 1,545,710 or 10.28% are urban; this makes the SNNPR Ethiopia's most rural region. With an estimated area of 112,343.19 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 133.9 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 3,087,567 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.9 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 4.2 and rural households 4.9 people. 55.5% of inhabitants were Protestants, 19.9% Orthodox Christians, 14.1% Muslim, 6.6% followers of traditional religions, 2.4% Roman Catholics and 1.5% all other religious affiliations.[2]
In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 10,377,028 of whom 5,161,787 were men and 5,215,241 were women. At the time of the census, the rural population of the Region accounted for 93.2% of the total population. Semien Omo, Sidama, and Gurage were the three zones with the highest population. The population is concentrated mostly in eastern, northern and central part of the SNNPR while the western and southern part of the Region is sparsely populated. 34.8% of inhabitants were Protestants, 27.6% Orthodox Christians, 16.7% Muslim, 15.4% followers of traditional religions and 3% Roman Catholics.
The SNNPR Water Resources Bureau announced that as of the fiscal year ending in 2006, they had increased the area of the Region that had access to drinkable water to 54% from 10-15% 15 years ago.[3] In August 2008, the head of public relations for the Bureau, Abdulkerim Nesru, announced that 94 million Birr had been spent to further increase the availability of drinkable water in the Region from 58% in the previous year to 63.6%. Priority was given to certain Zones, such as Sidama, Welayta and Gurage, as well as the Alaba special woreda and several resettlement areas.[4]
Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living for the SNNPR as of 2005[update] include the following: 10.7% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 57% and for women 22.4%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 85 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.[5]
[edit] Ethnicities
The SNNPR, being an amalgam of the main homelands of numerous ethnicities, contains over 45 indigenous ethnic groups. The 1994 census reported that the predominantly spoken languages include Sidamigna (18%), Guragigna (14.72%), Welayta (11.53%), Hadiyigna (8.53%), Keffigna (5.22%), and Kembatigna (4.35%). Other languages spoken in the State include Gamoigna, Mello, Goffa, and Gedeo; because of the relatively few number of speakers of most of the languages in the region, the working language of the state is Amharic (the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and formerly the only official language).[6]
The ethnicities native to the SNNPR, with percentages of the population as reported in the 2007 national census, include:[2]
[edit] Agriculture
The CSA reported that for 2004-2005 100,338 tons of coffee were produced in the SNNPR, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 44.2% of the total production in Ethiopia. Farmers in the Region had an estimated total 7,938,490 head of cattle (representing 20.5% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 3,270,200 sheep (18.8%), 2,289,970 goats (17.6%), 298,720 horses (19.7%), 63,460 mules (43.1%), 278,440 asses (11.1%), 6,586,140 poultry of all species (21.3%), and 726,960 beehives (16.7%).[7]
[edit] Presidents of the Executive Committee
- Abate Kisho (SEPDM) 1992 - 2001
- Haile Mariam Desalegne 12 November 2001 - March 2006
- Shiferaw Shigute (SEPDM) March 2006 - present
(This list is based on information from Worldstatesmen.org.)
[edit] Subdivisions
Note: The following list of administrative zones and special woredas (an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area and is not part of a zone) is based on information from the 2007 census; the list of second administrative level bodies maintained by the United Nations Geographic Information Working Group dates from 2002, and shows a previous subdivision.[8]
- Bench Maji Zone
- Dawro Zone
- Debub (South) Omo Zone
- Gamo Gofa Zone
- Gedeo Zone
- Gurage Zone
- Hadiya Zone
- Keffa Zone
- Kembata Tembaro Zone
- Sheka Zone
- Sidama Zone
- Silti Zone
- Wolayita Zone
- Alaba special woreda
- Amaro special woreda
- Basketo special woreda
- Burji special woreda
- Dirashe special woreda
- Konso special woreda
- Konta special woreda
- Yem special woreda
[edit] Notes
- ^ Terrence Lyons, "Closing the Transition: The May 1995 Elections in Ethiopia", Journal of Modern African Studies, 34 (1996), p. 135
- ^ a b "Census 2007", first draft, Tables 1, 4, 5, 6.
- ^ Potable water expansion works underway with over 60mln birr in SNNP State, Walta Information Center (WIC)
- ^ "SNNP State builds, repairs water facilities with over 94 mln birr", WIC (accessed 2 March 2009)
- ^ Macro International Inc. "2008. Ethiopia Atlas of Key Demographic and Health Indicators, 2005." (Calverton: Macro International, 2008), pp. 2, 3, 10 (accessed 28 January 2009)
- ^ FDRE States: Basic Information: The State of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' (last accessed 10 May 2006)
- ^ "CSA 2005 National Statistics", Tables D.4 - D.7.
- ^ Names and codes for January 2000, Ethiopia (WHO website). The information in the WHO spreadsheet is built on information received 18 September 2002 from the Ethiopian Ministry of Federal Affairs.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Map of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region at UN-OCHA (PDF file)
- Map of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region at DPPA of Ethiopia (PDF file)
- Ethiopia's Vanishing Tribes slideshow by Life magazine
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