Meskane

Meskane is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. This woreda is named after the Meskan speaking Gurage people. Part of the Gurage Zone, Meskane is bordered on the south by the Silt'e Zone, on the west by Muhor Na Aklil, on the northwest by Kokir Gedebano, on the north by the Oromia Region, on the northeast by Sodo, and on the southeast by Mareko. Towns in Meskane include Inseno. The town of Butajira is surrounded by Meskane. Meskane was part of the former Meskanena Mareko woreda.

Near Butajira are the Tufta Swamps at 8°8′N 38°24′E / 8.133°N 38.400°E, located in the Western highlands near the headwaters of the Meki River.[1]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 155,782, of whom 76,396 are men and 79,386 women; 11,388 or 7.31% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were reported as Muslim, with 60.19% of the population reporting that belief, while 34.55% practice Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 4.7% were Protestants.[2]

Notes

  1. Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, and J. S. Hughes, A directory of African wetlands, (Cambridge: IUCN, UNEP and WCMC, 1992), p. 169
  2. Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Tables 2.1, and 3.4.