Borena Zone
Encyclopedia
Borena is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. Borena is named after a tribe of the Oromo
people. Borena is bordered on the south by Kenya
, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by Guji
and on the east by the Somali Region
. The highest point in this zone is Mount Dara Tiniro. Cities and major towns in this Zone include Moyale
, and Negele Boran
.
and the creation of the Oromia Region. In September 2003, the upland woredas were separated from Borena to create the Guji Zone. Since then many of the remaining woredas have been reorganized to create new ones.
This Zone was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
in 2004 as one of several areas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas; no specific woredas were identified in this program. Borena became the new home for a total of 9145 heads of households and 45,725 total family members.
Drought conditions
in Borena in 2006 have increased tensions between the Borena and Guji
clans from 22 May, and spiraled into violence a week later. Clan elders were able to restore peace, but only after 10 days of fighting in which between 100 and 150 people were killed and left thousands displaced.
of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 962,489, of whom 487,024 are men and 475,465 women; with an area of 45,434.97 square kilometers, Borena has a population density of 21.18. While 84,328 or 53.88% are urban inhabitants, a further 23,158 or 2.41% are pastoralists. A total of 182,258 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 5.28 persons to a household, and 174,474 housing units.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,398,543 in 275,072 households, of whom 711,344 were men and 687,199 women; 127,469 or 9.11% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 10 rural kebele
s and parts of two urban ones, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 31,670 inhabitants, of whom 16,465 were men and 15,205 were women.) The four largest ethnic groups reported in Borena were the Oromo
(76.56%), the Gedeo
(12.87%), the Amhara
(3.28%), and the Somali
(3.21%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.08% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 77.08%, 12.59% Gedeo
, 5.05% spoke Amharic
, and 3.22% spoke Somali
; the remaining 2.06% spoke all other primary languages reported. The plurality of the inhabitants were Protestant
, with 32.17% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 27.01% held traditional beliefs, 14.21% were Muslim
, 11.28% professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 1.15% were Catholic
.
According to a May 24, 2004 World Bank
memorandum, 4% of the inhabitants of Borena have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 27.5 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers (compared to the national average of 30 kilometers), the average rural household has 0.5 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 1.14 for the Oromia Region) and the equivalent of 0.6 heads of livestock. 14.4% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 24%. Concerning education
, 53% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 9% in secondary schools. Concerning health
, 35% of the zone is exposed to malaria
, and none to Tsetse fly
. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 410.
, and the Lega Dembi gold and the Kenticha tantalum
mines near Shakiso
. An agreement was signed in early December 1997 between the Ethiopian government and the private company JCI Ethiopia for the exploration of gold, base and associated minerals in Borena. The exclusive exploration rights would cover the next three years while the company’s estimated spending during this period will be 10 million dollars.
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
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...
. Borena is named after a tribe of the 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...
people. Borena is bordered on the south by Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by Guji
Guji Zone
Guji is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Guji is named after a tribe of the Oromo people. Guji is bordered on the south by Borena, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Bale and on...
and on the east by the Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
. The highest point in this zone is Mount Dara Tiniro. Cities and major towns in this Zone include Moyale
Moyale
Moyale is a market town on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya, which is split between the two countries: the larger portion is in Ethiopia , and the smaller is in Kenya . There are four disputed locations within the Moyale district between the Somali and Oromo regions...
, and Negele Boran
Negele Boran
Negele Borana is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Guji Zone of the Oromia Region on the road connecting Addis Ababa to Dolo Odo, it has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of about 1,475 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Liben woreda...
.
History
The Borena Zone was created shortly after the adoption of the new constitution in 19951995 Constitution of Ethiopia
The current Constitution of Ethiopia, which is the supreme law of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in December 1994 and came into force in August 1995. The constitution was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly elected in June of that year.The...
and the creation of the Oromia Region. In September 2003, the upland woredas were separated from Borena to create the Guji Zone. Since then many of the remaining woredas have been reorganized to create new ones.
This Zone was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ethiopia)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the Ethiopian government ministry which oversees the agricultural and rural development policies of Ethiopia on a Federal level...
in 2004 as one of several areas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas; no specific woredas were identified in this program. Borena became the new home for a total of 9145 heads of households and 45,725 total family members.
Drought conditions
2006 Horn of Africa food crisis
In 2006, an acute shortage of food affected the countries in the Horn of Africa , as well as northeastern Kenya. The United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organization estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread...
in Borena in 2006 have increased tensions between the Borena and Guji
Guji Oromo
The Guji Oromo are an ethnic Oromo group living in southern Ethiopia. They are part nomadic and part agrarian. According to a population projection from 2007, the total population of the Guji Oromo is above 5 million....
clans from 22 May, and spiraled into violence a week later. Clan elders were able to restore peace, but only after 10 days of fighting in which between 100 and 150 people were killed and left thousands displaced.
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), this Zone has a total population of 962,489, of whom 487,024 are men and 475,465 women; with an area of 45,434.97 square kilometers, Borena has a population density of 21.18. While 84,328 or 53.88% are urban inhabitants, a further 23,158 or 2.41% are pastoralists. A total of 182,258 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 5.28 persons to a household, and 174,474 housing units.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,398,543 in 275,072 households, of whom 711,344 were men and 687,199 women; 127,469 or 9.11% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 10 rural kebele
Kebele
A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...
s and parts of two urban ones, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 31,670 inhabitants, of whom 16,465 were men and 15,205 were women.) The four largest ethnic groups reported in Borena were the 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...
(76.56%), the Gedeo
Gedeo people
The Gedeo are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. The Gedeo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is named for this people...
(12.87%), the 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...
(3.28%), and the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
(3.21%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.08% of the population. Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
was spoken as a first language by 77.08%, 12.59% Gedeo
Gedeo language
Gedeo is the name of a Highland East Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family spoken in south central Ethiopia. Alternate names for the language include Derasa, Deresa, Darassa, Geddeo, Derasanya, Darasa. It is spoken by the Gedeo people, who live in the highland area, southwest of Dila and...
, 5.05% spoke Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, and 3.22% spoke Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
; the remaining 2.06% spoke all other primary languages reported. The plurality of the inhabitants were Protestant
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...
, with 32.17% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 27.01% held traditional beliefs, 14.21% were 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...
, 11.28% professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 1.15% were Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
.
According to a May 24, 2004 World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
memorandum, 4% of the inhabitants of Borena have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 27.5 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers (compared to the national average of 30 kilometers), the average rural household has 0.5 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 1.14 for the Oromia Region) and the equivalent of 0.6 heads of livestock. 14.4% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 24%. Concerning education
Education in Ethiopia
Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. Prior to 1974, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 90% and compared poorly with the rest of Africa in the provision of schools and...
, 53% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 9% in secondary schools. Concerning health
Health in Ethiopia
Metrics of health in Ethiopia are among the world's worst. According to the U.S. government, Ethiopia's health care system is wholly inadequate, even after recent improvements. The Ethiopian government has launched a campaign to improve the health care system....
, 35% of the zone is exposed to malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and none to Tsetse fly
Tsetse fly
Tsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 410.
Economy
The CSA reported that 13,533 tons of coffee were produced in this zone in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 11.8% of the Region's output and 6.0% of Ethiopia's total output. Borena is home to three of the major mines of Ethiopia: the gold mine at Kebri MangestKebri Mangest
Kebri Mangest is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of 1758 meters above sea level....
, and the Lega Dembi gold and the Kenticha tantalum
Tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...
mines near Shakiso
Shakiso
Shakiso is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Gujii Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1758 meters above sea level....
. An agreement was signed in early December 1997 between the Ethiopian government and the private company JCI Ethiopia for the exploration of gold, base and associated minerals in Borena. The exclusive exploration rights would cover the next three years while the company’s estimated spending during this period will be 10 million dollars.