Asayita is one of the 29 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

s in the Afar Region

Afar Region

Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

 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...

. Part of the Administrative Zone 1

Administrative Zone 1 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 1 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by Administrative Zone 3, on the southwest by Administrative Zone 5, on the west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Administrative Zones 4 and 2, on the north by Eritrea, and on the...

, Asayita is bordered on the south by Afambo

Afambo

Afambo is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named after Lake Afambo, located at the border of this woreda with Asayita, near the international border with Djibouti. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Afambo is bordered on the south by the Somali Region, on the west by...

, on the west by Dubti

Dubti (woreda)

Dubti is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Dubti is bordered on the south by the Somali Region, on the southwest by Mille, on the west by Chifra, on the northwest by Administrative Zone 4, on the north by the Administrative Zone 2, on the...

, then on the north by the Awash River

Awash River

The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...

 which separates it from Elidar

Elidar (woreda)

Elidar is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Elidar is bordered on the south by the Awash River which separates it from Asayita, on the west by Dubti, on the northwest by the Administrative Zone 2, on the northeast by Eritrea, and on the east...

, and on the east by Djibouti

Djibouti

Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

. The major town in Asayita is Asayita.

Part of the shoreline of Lake Gargori lie within the boundaries of this woreda.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency

Central 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), this woreda has a total population of 50,803, of whom 27,284 are men and 23,519 women; with an area of 1,678.28 square kilometers, Asayita has a population density of 30.27. While 16,052 or 31.60% are urban inhabitants, a further 9,358 or 18.42% are pastoralists. A total of 11,096 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 4.6 persons to a household, and 11,404 housing units.

Agriculture

A sample enumeration performed by the CSA in 2001 interviewed 3036 farmers in this woreda, who held an average of 1.78 hectares of land. Of the 5.39 square kilometers of private land surveyed, 71.59% was under cultivation, 1.22% pasture, 31.06% fallow, and 4.54% was devoted to other uses; the percentage in woodland was missing. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 66.21% is planted in cereals like maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

; none of the land was planted in pulses and vegetables, but 9 hectares was planted in fruit trees, 0.81 hectares in banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

s and 0.41 in guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

s. 9.95% of the farmers both raise crops and livestock, while 25.79% only grow crops and 64.26% only raise livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed between 66.49% own their land, 14.09% rent, and the remaining 19.42% are held under other forms of tenure.