Hitosa

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Hitosa is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Hitosa is bordered on the south by Digeluna Tijo, on the southwest by Tiyo, on the west by Ziway Dugda, on the northwest by the Misraq Shewa Zone, on the northeast by Dodotana Sire, and on the east by Tena.^[1] The administrative center of the woreda is Iteya; other towns include Arb Gebeya, Borujawi, Huruta and Ligaba.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1500 to 4170 meters above sea level; Mount Chilalo is the highest point. Rivers include 20 kilometers of the Keleta, 8 kilometers of the Wedecha and 10 kilometers of the Gonde. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 52.8% is arable or cultivable (46.5% was planted in cereals), 16.3% pasture, 28.1% forest, and the remaining 2.8% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Annole is a local landmark. Onions, potatoes and sugar cane are important cash crops.^[2]

Industry in the woreda includes 60 small scale industries, including 47 grain mills, employing 230 people, and 1465 registered businesses, of whom 27.7% wholesalers, 39.4% retailers and 32.9% service providers. There were 37 Farmers Associations with 29,093 members and 11 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 18,182 members. Hitosa has 68 kilometers of dry-weather and 161 all-weather road, for an average road density of 188 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 55.3% of the total population has access to drinking water.^[3]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 248,304, of whom 124,808 were males and 123,496 were females; 37,820 or 15.23% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,215.47 square kilometers, Hitosa has an estimated population density of 204.3 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 132.2.^[4]

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