Region in Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia
Metekel Zone
is located in the current
Benishangul-Gumuz
region of
Ethiopia
. It was previously known to be part of the Amhara land.(H.Dufton Narrative of a journey through Abyssinia in 1862-3.P.129). It is bordered on the south and southwest by
Kamashi
, on the west by
Sudan
, and on the north and east by the current
Amhara region
. The
Abay River
which formery defined the western border of the Amhara land,defines the Zone's boundaries with Kamashi, while the
Dinder River
defines part of its boundary with the current Amhara region.
The administrative center of Metekel Zone is
Gilgil Beles
; other towns include
Manbuk
. The highest point is
Mount Belaya
(3,131 meters), which is part of the
Dangur range
.
MIDROC Gold
reported in 2009 that it was exploring the Zone for
gold
deposits.
[1]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the
Central Statistical Agency
of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 276,367, of whom 139,119 are men and 137,248 women. 37,615 or 13.61% of population are urban inhabitants. A total of 58,515 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.72 persons to a household, and 56,734 housing units. The five largest ethnic groups reported in the Metekel Zone were the
Gumuz
(39.78%), the
Amhara
(23.39%),the
Shinasha
(12.6%),the
Awi
(11.33%), a subgroup of the
Agew
, and the
Oromo
(10.09%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.81% of the population. Main languages are
Gumuz
(36.31%),
Amharic
(34.21%),
Oromo
(19.89%),
Shinasha
(12.81%) and
Awngi
(10.91%).
Amharic
is spoken as a first language by 24% of the population and as a second language by another 10%. The majority of the inhabitants practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
, with 54.49% of the population reporting that they held that belief, while 20.31% were
Muslim
, 17.65% observed traditional religions, and 6.36% were
Protestant
.
[2]
According to a May 24, 2004
World Bank
memorandum, 8% of the inhabitants of Metekel have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 28.4 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 1.4 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 2.25 for pastoral regions)
[3]
and the equivalent of 0.6 heads of livestock. 10% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and an average of 28% for pastoral regions. 93% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 25% in secondary schools. 68% of the zone is exposed to
malaria
, and 100% to
Tsetse fly
. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 433.
[4]
The
Metekel conflict
began in 2019. A
massacre
occurred
on 23 December 2020.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Minassie Teshome,
"Ethiopia: Midroc Signs Up for Second Gold Mine"
,
Addis Fortune
29 November 2009 (accessed 29 April 2010)
- ^
Census 2007 Tables: Benishangul-Gumuz Region
Archived
2010-11-14 at the
Wayback Machine
, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
- ^
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-Gumaz, Afar and Somali as "pastoral regions".
- ^
World Bank,
Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization
(accessed 23 March 2006).
11°00′N
35°45′E
/
11.000°N 35.750°E
/
11.000; 35.750