Oromia Region

ኦሮሚያ ክልል
Oromiyaa
Oromiya		 the Oromia Region
Flag of the Oromia Region
Flag of the Oromia Region
Location of the Oromia Region
Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Oromia region
Capital city de jure Addis Ababa[1]
de facto Adama
Official languages Oromo
Recognised regional languages\Dialects Oromo

Oromia (sometimes spelled Oromiya and spelled Oromiyaa in the Oromo language) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. Covering 353,632 km² from the east to the southwest of the country, its population was estimated in 2002 at about twenty-four million, making it the largest state in terms of both population and land area. It includes the former Arsi Province along with portions of the former Bale, Hararghe, Illubabor, Kaffa, Shewa, Sidamo, and Welega provinces. Its current capital is Adama; other important cities and towns include Ambo, Asella, Debre Zeit, Dembidolo, Fiche, Gelemso, Gimbi, Goba, Jimma, Metu, Negele Boran, Nekemte, Shashamane and Waliso.

Historically, the Oromo people migrated from east of the Great Rift Valley into the Omotic-speaking areas of western Oromia. In this sense, eastern Shewa and all zones west of it are zones of Oromo colonization.

Prior to 2000, the Regional capital of Oromia was Addis Ababa, also known as Finfinne (the original name in the Oromo language). The relocation of the regional capital to Adama sparked considerable controversy. Critics of the move believed the Ethiopian government wished to deemphasize Addis Ababa's location within Oromia.[2][3] On the other hand, the government maintained that Addis Ababa "has been found inconvenient from the point of view of developing the language, culture and history of the Oromo people."[4]

On June 10, 2005, the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO), part of the ruling EPRDF coalition, officially announced plans to move the state capital back to Finfinne.[5]

Contents

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) published in 2005, Oromia has an estimated total population of 26,553,000, consisting of 13,249,999 men and 13,303,001 women. 23,030,000 or 86.7% of the population are estimated to be rural inhabitants, while 3,523,000 or 13.3% are urban. With an estimated area of 353,006.81 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 75.22 people per square kilometer.[6]

These estimates are based on the 1994 census, in which the region's total population was reported to be 18,732,525, of which 9,371,228 were males and 9,361,297 females. The rural residents of the State accounted for 89.5% of the total. 44.3% were Muslims, 41.3% Orthodox Christians, 8.6% Protestants, and 4.2% followers of traditional religions. The remaining 1.6% constitute other religious groups; in urban areas, Orthodox Christians constitute 67.8% of the population, followed by Muslims at 24.0%, and Protestants 7%.

The major ethnic groups within the State include the Oromo (85%), Amhara (9.1%), and Gurage (1.3% - some of Sebat Bet Gurage, Soddo Gurage, and Silt'e). The remaining 4.6% constitute other ethnic groups. However, figures of full ethnic background are disputable since many ethnically mixed Ethiopians are not counted properly. Particularly, Shewa Oromos and urban Oromos are known to have assimilated with ethnic Amhara and others while south western Oromos have mixed with the Sidama and other ethnicities. The census and the general system of governmence has remained controversial and related to the politics of the country. For instance, mixed Ethiopians with Oromo father and Amhara mother are registered into the census using their father's only ethnic background.

Oromo (Oromiffa), presently written with Latin characters, is the most commonly spoken language, constituting 83.5% of the spoken language. Other major languages are Amharic (11%) (especially in eastern Welega and northern Shewa), Gurage languages (Sebat Bet Gurage, Soddo, Silt'e), Hadiya, Gedeo (0.98%) (especially in western and eastern Shewa); and Tigrigna (0.25%). Omotic languages are spoken by significant minorities in Jimma, Illubabor and western Welega; and Komo, a Nilo-Saharan language is spoken in communities located in the far west.

Economy

The CSA reported that for 2004-2005 115,083 tons of coffee were produced in Oromia, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 50.7% of the total production in Ethiopia. Farmers in the Region had an estimated total of 17,214,540 cattle (representing 44.4% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 6,905,370 sheep (39.6), 4,849,060 goats (37.4%), 959,710 horses (63.25%), 63,460 mules (43.1%), 278,440 asses (11.1%), 139,830 camels (30.6%), 11,637,070 poultry of all species (37.7%), and 2,513,790 beehives (57.73%).[7]

According to a March 2003 World Bank publication, the average rural household has 1.14 hectares of land compared to the national average of 1.01 hectares, 24% of the population is in non-farm related jobs compared to the national average of 25%.[8]

Presidents of the Executive Committee

(This list is based on information from Worldstatesmen.org.)

Zones

Media

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FDRE States: Basic Information, Oromia" (HTML). The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  2. ↑ Hameso, Seyoum and Tilahun Ayanou Nebo (2000). "Ethiopia: A New Start?". The Sidama Concern. Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
  3. ↑ Mosisa, Abraham T. (January 13, 2004). "Letter to U.N. Secretary-General". Oromo Studies Association. Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
  4. ↑ "Nazareth Selected as Oromiya's Capital". Walta Information Center (July 13, 2000). Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
  5. ↑ "Chief Administrator of Oromia says decision to move capital city based on study". Walta Information Center (2005-06-11). Archived from the original on 2005-06-13. Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
  6. ↑ "2005 National Statistics, Tables B.3 and B.4" (pdf). Central Statistical Agency. Retrieved on February 10, 2006.
  7. ↑ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables D.3 - D.5
  8. ↑ Klaus Deininger et al. "Tenure Security and Land Related Investment", WP-2991 (accessed 23 March 2006).

External links

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(prior to 1995)
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