Dolobay is one of the 47 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 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...

 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 Afder Zone

Afder Zone

Afder is one of the nine Zones of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Afder is bordered on the southwest by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Liben, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the north and northeast by the Shebelle River which separates it from Gode, and on the east and...

, Dolobay is bordered on the south by the Provisional Administrative Line

Provisional Administrative Line

A Provisional Administrative Line is a de facto border between two countries. For example, part of the border between Ethiopia and Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line....

 with Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, on the west by the Ganale Dorya River

Ganale Dorya River

The Ganale Dorya River is a perennial river in southeastern Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains east of Aleta Wendo, the Dawa flows south and east to join with the Dawa at the border with Somalia to become the Jubba. Tributaries include the Welmel, Weyib , Dumale, Doya, Hawas and the Hambala...

 which separates it from the Liben Zone

Liben Zone

Liben is one of the nine Zones of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Liben is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the northeast by Afder, and on the southeast by Somalia. Towns in Liben include Softu and Dolo....

, on the northwest by Cherti

Cherti (woreda)

Cherti is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Cherti. Part of the Afder Zone, Cherti is bordered on the south by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from the Liben Zone, on the west by Guradamole, on the north by Elekere, on the east by Afder,...

, on the north by Afder

Afder (woreda)

Afder is one of the 67 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Afder is bordered on the south by Dolobay, on the west by Cherti, on the north by Elekere, on the northwest by Mirab Imi, and on the east by Bare. Towns in Afder include Guda Asbo and Hargele.- History :Afder...

, and on the east by Bare

Bare (woreda)

Bare is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Bare is bordered on the south by the Provisional Administrative Line with Somalia, on the southwest by Dolobay, on the northwest by Afder, on the north by Mirab Imi, and on the east by Shebelle River which...

. The major town in Dolobay is Weldiya

Weldiya (Afder)

Weldiya is a market town in eastern Ethiopia The administrative center of the Afder Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of ....

.

Other rivers in Dolobay include the Mena

Mena River

The Mena is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Ganale Dorya....

, and the seasonal Weyib

Weyib River

Weyib River is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It rises in the Bale Mountains east of Goba in the Oromia Region, flowing east to pass through the Sof Omar Caves, then to the southeast until it joins the Ganale Dorya River in the Somali Region....

.

Demographics

Based on figures published 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...

 in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 89,322, of whom 40,610 were men and 48,712 were women; 8,822 or 9.88% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 8.6%. Information is not available for the area of Dolobay, so its population density cannot be calculated. This woreda is primarily inhabited by the Darod

Darod

The Darod is a Somali clan. The father of this clan is named Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, but is more commonly known as Darod. In the Somali language, the word Daarood means "an enclosed compound," a conflation of the two words daar and ood .The Darod population in Somalia lives principally...

 clan of the Somali people

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...

, although the western part covers part of the homeland of the Hawiye

Hawiye

The Hawiye is a Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily live in central and southern Somalia, in the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province , and in smaller numbers in other countries. Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale...

clan.

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 71,940, of whom 39,891 were men and 32,049 were women; 5,909 or 8.21% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Afder was the Somali people (98.76%).