Zone in the Benishangul-Gumuz of Ethiopia
Kamashi
is a
zone
in the
Benishangul-Gumuz Region
of
Ethiopia
. It covers part of the southern bank of the
Abay
and the valley of the
Didessa Rivers
. The Zone is bordered on the south and east by the
Oromia Region
, on the west by the
Assosa
and
Sudan
, and on the north by
Metekel
and the
Amhara Region
, which lie on the further bank of the Abay. The majority ethnic group in the zone is the
Gumuz people
, with significant
Oromo
and
Amhara
minorities as well.
Rivers in Kamashi include the
Didessa
.
Demographics
[
edit
]
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the
Central Statistical Agency
of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 101,543, of whom 52,284 are men and 49,259 women. 14,894 or 14.67% of population are urban inhabitants. A total of 21,404 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.74 persons to a household, and 20,698 housing units. The four largest ethnic groups reported in the Kamashi Zone were the
Gumuz
(60.56%), the
Oromo
(24.61%), the
Amhara
(11.11%), and the
Berta
(2.83%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.89% of the population. Main languages are the
Gumuz
(59.67%),
Oromo
(25.54%),
Amharic
(11.25%), and the
Berta
(2.8%). The majority of the inhabitants were
Protestant
, with 56.24% of the population reporting that they held that belief, while 28.87% practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
, 6.87% were
Muslim
, 6.06% practiced traditional beliefs, and 1.35% were
Catholic
.
[1]
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency
in 2005, this zone has an estimated total population of 67,361, of whom 34,150 are men and 33,211 are women. With an estimated area of 8,850.96 square kilometers, Kamashi has an estimated population density of 7.61 people per square kilometer.
[2]
Information is lacking on the towns of this zone.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 50,783 in 9,963 households, of whom 25,862 were men and 24,921 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in the Kamashi Zone were the
Gumuz
(76.1%), the
Oromo
(18.6%), and the
Berta
(4.5%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.8% of the population.
Gumuz
is spoken by 76% of the population,
Oromiffa
as a first language by 18.6% and as a second language by 48.3%, and
Berta
by 4.5%; the remaining 0.9% spoke all other primary languages reported. While 46.7% speak only one language, Oromiffo is spoken as a second language by 48.3%, Gumuz by 3.9% and
Amharic
by 1.8%. Most of the inhabitants followed traditional beliefs, with 43.6% of the population reporting beliefs reported under that category, while 27% were
Protestant
, 26%
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
, and 5.8% were
Muslim
. Concerning
education
, 11.36% of the population were considered literate; 9.02% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school, a negligible number of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school, and only 0.08% of the inhabitants aged 15?18 in senior secondary school. 3.6% of all houses had access to safe
drinking water
, and 2.4% had toilet facilities at the time of the census.
[3]
According to a 24 May 2004
World Bank
memorandum, none of the inhabitants of Kamashi have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 21.2 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 1.2 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 2.25 for pastoral Regions)
[4]
and the equivalent of 0.3 heads of livestock. 15.4% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and an average of 28% for pastoral Regions. 84% of the zone is exposed to
malaria
, and 100% to
Tsetse fly
. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 387.
[5]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Census 2007 Tables: Benishangul-Gumuz Region
Archived
2012-01-30 at the
Wayback Machine
, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
- ^
CSA 2005 National Statistics
Archived
2006-11-23 at the
Wayback Machine
, Table B.3
- ^
1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Vol. 1
Archived
2008-11-20 at the
Wayback Machine
Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.11, 2.14, 2.17, 2.19, 3.5, 3.7, 6.11, 6.13 (accessed 31 December 2008).
- ^
Comparative national and regional figures comes from the World Bank publication,
Klaus Deininger et al. "Tenure Security and Land Related Investment", WP-2991
Archived
2007-03-10 at the
Wayback Machine
(accessed 23 March 2006). This publication defines Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar and Somali as "pastoral Regions".
- ^
World Bank,
Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization
(accessed 23 March 2006).
9°45′N
35°50′E
/
9.750°N 35.833°E
/
9.750; 35.833