Kemba is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Kemba is bordered on the southwest by the Debub Omo Zone, on the west by Zala Ubamale, on the north by Dita Dermalo, on the east by Bonke, and on the southeast by the Dirashe special woreda; the Weito River defines the boundary with Bonke and Dirashe. The major town in this woreda is Kemba.
Kemba is part of a region known for hilly and undulating midland and upper lowland terrain; due to terrain and weather patterns, less than one in five households is food secure. Food crops include maize, enset, sweet potatoes, taro, teff, and yams; income sources include butter and selling firewood.[1] According to a 2004 report, Kemba had 31 kilometers of all-weather roads and 8 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 34 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.[2]
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 141,274, of whom 68,483 are men and 72,791 are women; 3,894 or 2.76% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.5%. With an estimated area of 1,160.94 square kilometers, Kemba has an estimated population density of 121.7 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 156.5.[3]
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 99,674 of whom 51,387 were men and 48,287 were women; 2,149 or 2.16% of its population were urban dwellers. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Kemba were the Gamo (96.94%), and the Amhara (2.49%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.57% of the population. Gamo is spoken as a first language by 89.97%, 5.75% Male, and 1.44% spoke Amharic; the remaining 2.84% spoke all other primary languages reported.[4]