Amhara Region
Encyclopedia
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions
(kililoch) of Ethiopia
, containing the homeland of the Amhara people
. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar
.
Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana
, which is the source of the Blue Nile
river is located in Amhara, as well as the Semien Mountains National Park
, which includes the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashan.
During Ethiopia's imperial era, Amhara included several provinces (such as Dembiya
, Gojjam
, Begemder
, Angot, Amhara
, Shewa
(in olden times spelled as XOA) and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus
. The Amhara Region incorporated most of the former provinces of Begemder
, Dembiya
, Angot, Amhara, Gojjam
, and Showa
.
of Ethiopia (CSA), the Amhara Region has a population of 17,214,056 of whom 8,636,875 were men and 8,577,181 women; urban inhabitants number 2,112,220 or 12.27% of the population. With an estimated area of 159,173.66 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 108.15 people per square kilometer. For the entire Region 3,953,115 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.3 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.3 and rural households 4.5 people. At 91.48% of the local population, the region is predominantly inhabited by people from the Semitic
-speaking Amhara
ethnic group. Most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic
communities, including the Agaw
/Awi (3.46%), Oromo
(2.62%), Agaw/Kamyr (1.39%) and Argobba
(0.41%). Of the total population of the region, 82.5% were Orthodox Christians, 17.2% Muslim
, 0.2% Protestants
, and 0.1% practiced other faiths.
In the previous census, conducted 1994, the region's population was reported to be 13,834,297 of whom 6,947,546 were men and 6,886,751 women; urban inhabitants numbered 1,265,315 or 9.15% of the population. The majority of the population was Amhara, which was 91.2% of the inhabitants; other groups include the Oromo (3%), Agaw/Awi (2.7%), Qemant
(1.2%), and Agaw/Kamyr (1%). Of the total population of the Region, 81.5% were Orthodox Christians, 18.1% Muslim, and 0.1% Protestants.
According to the CSA, , 28% of the total population had access to safe drinking water
, of whom 19.89% were rural inhabitants and 91.8% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living
for Amhara include the following: 17.5% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 54% and for women 25.1%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 94 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.
(This list is based on information from Worldstatesmen.org.)
Regions of Ethiopia
||Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions and two chartered cities...
(kililoch) of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, containing the homeland of the Amhara people
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia. It is the capital of the Amhara Region .Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities , and cities like Debre Marqos and Dessie, which are...
.
Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana
Lake Tana
Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia...
, which is the source of the Blue Nile
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile...
river is located in Amhara, as well as the Semien Mountains National Park
Semien Mountains National Park
Simien Mountains National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia....
, which includes the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashan.
During Ethiopia's imperial era, Amhara included several provinces (such as Dembiya
Dembiya
Dembiya is a historic region of Ethiopia, intimately linked with Lake Tana. According to the account of Manuel de Almeida, Dembiya was "bounded on East by Begemder, on South by Gojjam, on West by Agaws of Achefer and Tangha...
, Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
, Begemder
Begemder
Begemder was a province in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. There are several proposed etymologies for this name...
, Angot, Amhara
Amhara province
Amhara was the name of a medieval province of Ethiopia, located in present day Amhara Region, and the pre-1996 province of Wollo...
, Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
(in olden times spelled as XOA) and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus
Negus
Negus is a title in Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic, used for a king and at times also a vassal ruler in pre-1974 Ethiopia and pre-1890 Eritrea. It is subsequently used to translate the word "king" in Biblical and other literature...
. The Amhara Region incorporated most of the former provinces of Begemder
Begemder
Begemder was a province in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. There are several proposed etymologies for this name...
, Dembiya
Dembiya
Dembiya is a historic region of Ethiopia, intimately linked with Lake Tana. According to the account of Manuel de Almeida, Dembiya was "bounded on East by Begemder, on South by Gojjam, on West by Agaws of Achefer and Tangha...
, Angot, Amhara, Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
, and Showa
Showa
Shōwa is the name of several places, times, people and things in Japan.* Hirohito , the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa...
.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
of Ethiopia (CSA), the Amhara Region has a population of 17,214,056 of whom 8,636,875 were men and 8,577,181 women; urban inhabitants number 2,112,220 or 12.27% of the population. With an estimated area of 159,173.66 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 108.15 people per square kilometer. For the entire Region 3,953,115 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.3 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.3 and rural households 4.5 people. At 91.48% of the local population, the region is predominantly inhabited by people from the Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
-speaking Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
ethnic group. Most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
communities, including the Agaw
Agaw
The Agaw are an ethnic group in Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.-History:The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the 3rd c. AD Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6th century...
/Awi (3.46%), Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(2.62%), Agaw/Kamyr (1.39%) and Argobba
Argobba people
The Argobba are a Muslim people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area...
(0.41%). Of the total population of the region, 82.5% were Orthodox Christians, 17.2% Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, 0.2% Protestants
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
, and 0.1% practiced other faiths.
In the previous census, conducted 1994, the region's population was reported to be 13,834,297 of whom 6,947,546 were men and 6,886,751 women; urban inhabitants numbered 1,265,315 or 9.15% of the population. The majority of the population was Amhara, which was 91.2% of the inhabitants; other groups include the Oromo (3%), Agaw/Awi (2.7%), Qemant
Qemant
The Qemant are a small ethnic group in Ethiopia, who, despite their close historical and ethnic relationship, should not be confused with the Beta Israel....
(1.2%), and Agaw/Kamyr (1%). Of the total population of the Region, 81.5% were Orthodox Christians, 18.1% Muslim, and 0.1% Protestants.
According to the CSA, , 28% of the total population had access to safe drinking water
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people...
, of whom 19.89% were rural inhabitants and 91.8% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
for Amhara include the following: 17.5% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 54% and for women 25.1%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 94 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.
Agriculture
The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Amhara had a total of 9,694,800 head of cattle (representing 25% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 6,390,800 sheep (36.7%), 4,101,770 goats (31.6%), 257,320 horses (17%), 8,900 mules (6%), 1,400,030 asses (55.9%), 14,270 camels (3.12%), 8,442,240 poultry of all species (27.3%), and 919,450 beehives (21.1%).Presidents of the Executive Committee
- Addisu Legesse (ANDM/EPRDFAmhara National Democratic MovementThe Amhara National Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia.At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, that won 327 out of 527 seats...
) 1992 - Oct 2000 - Yoseph Reta (b. 1956) (ANDM/EPRDF) Oct 2000 - 5 Oct 2005
- Ayalew Gobeze (ANDM/EPRDF) 5 Oct 2005–present
(This list is based on information from Worldstatesmen.org.)