Arbegona is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Sidama Zone, Arbegona is bordered on the southwest by Hula, on the west by Dale, on the northwest by Shebedino, on the north by the Oromia Region, and on the east by Bensa. The major town in Arbegona is Arbegona.
According to a 2004 report, Arbegona had 36 kilometers of all-weather roads and 25 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 129 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.[1]
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 192,032, of whom 95,489 are men and 96,543 are women; 5,502 or 2.87% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.9%. With an estimated area of 474.07 square kilometers, Arbegona has an estimated population density of 405.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 430.03.[2]
In the 1994 Census this woreda had a population of 135,453, of whom 68,138 were men and 67,315 women; 3,037 or 2.24% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Arbegona were the Sidama (96.8%), the Amhara (1.7%), and the Oromo (0.95%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.55% of the population. Sidamo is spoken as a first language by 98.11% of the inhabitants, 1.03% speak Amharic, and 0.76% Oromiffa; the remaining 0.1% spoke all other primary languages reported. 58.09% of the population said they were Protestants, 32.68% observed traditional religions, 2.73% were Muslim, and 2.66% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.[3] Concerning education, 13.16% of the population were considered literate; statistics on school attendance in this woreda are missing. Concerning sanitary conditions, about 8.58% of the urban houses and 14.92% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census, while about 52.22% of the urban and 5.06% of the total had toilet facilities.[4]