Dale (woreda)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dale is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Sidama Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Dale is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by the Bilate River which separates it from the Semien Omo Zone, on the north by Shebedino, on the east by Arbegona and Hula, and on the southeast by Aleta Wendo. The major town in Dale is Irgalem.

A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 81.9% is arable or cultivable, none used for pasture, 2.7% forest, and the remaining 15.5% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable.^[1] Important cash crops include corn, barley, haricot beans, local varieties of cabbage, and sweet potatoes.^[2]

[edit] Population

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 441,263, of whom 215,677 were males and 225,586 were females; 43,815 or 9.93% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 8.9%. With an estimated area of 1,326.41 square kilometers, Dale has an estimated population density of 332.7 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 430.03.^[3]

The dominant Ethnic group in this woreda is the Sidama people; only 2% report as belonging to all other groups.^[4]

[edit] Notes