Gofa Zuria is one of the 77 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 Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region 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 Gamo Gofa Zone

Gamo Gofa Zone

Gamo Gofa is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . It is named for the Gamo and Gofa peoples, whose homelands lie in this Zone...

, Gofa Zuria is bordered on the south by Zala Ubamale

Zala Ubamale

Zala Ubamale is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Zala Ubamale is bordered on the south and west by the Debub Omo Zone, on the northwest by Gofa Zuria, on the northeast by Kucha, on the east by Dita Dermalo and...

, on the southwest by the Debub (South) Omo Zone

Debub Omo Zone

Debub Omo is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . Debub Omo is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the southwest by the Ilemi Triangle, on the west by Bench Maji, on the northwest by Keficho Shekicho, on the north by Semien Omo, on the northeast by the...

, on the west by the Basketo special woreda, on the northwest by Melokoza

Melokoza

Melokoza is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Melokoza is bordered on the south by Basketo special woreda, on the southwest by the Debub Omo Zone, on the northwest by the Konta special woreda, on the north by...

, on the north by the Dawro Zone

Dawro Zone

Dawro is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . it is named for the Welayta people, whose homeland lies in this Zone...

, and on the east by Kucha

Kucha (woreda)

Kucha is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Kucha is bordered on the south by Dita Dermalo, on the southwest by Zala Ubamale, on the west by Gofa Zuria, on the northwest by the Dawro Zone, on the north by the...

. The administrative center of Gofa Zuria is Bulki

Bulki

Bulki is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the lower valley of the Senti River, in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1963 meters above sea level...

; other towns include Sawla

Sawla

Sawla is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of 1395 meters above sea level...

.

Gofa Zuria is part of a region known for hilly and undulating midland and upper lowland terrain; due to terrain and weather patterns, less than one in five households is food secure. Food crops include 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...

, enset, sweet potatoes, taro

Taro

Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...

, teff

Teff

Eragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....

, and yams; income sources include butter and selling firewood. According to a 2004 report, Gofa Zuria had 75 kilometers of all-weather roads for an average road density of 44 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.

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 241,514, of whom 121,268 were men and 120,246 were women; 34,171 or 14.15% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 8.5%. With an estimated area of 1,720.63 square kilometers, Gofa Zuria has an estimated population density of 140.4 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 156.5.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 166,050 of whom 82,744 were men and 83,306 were women; 18,860 or 11.36% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in Gofa Zuria were the namesake Goffa people (80.26%), the Oyda (7.88%), 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...

 (5.11%), the Aari (2.24%), and the Basketo

Basketo people

The Basketo people are an Omotic-speaking ethnic group whose homeland lies in the southern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region . The Basketo special woreda is named after this ethnic group...

 (0.87%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.64% of the population. Gofa is spoken as a first language by 93.2%, 2.46% Oyda

Oyda language

Oyda is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Gamo Gofa Zone of Ethiopia.The 2007 Census of Ethiopia lists 45,120 individuals for the ethnic group.- External links :* , LL-Map website...

, 2.94% 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...

, 2.46% Ari

Ari language

The Ari language is a Papuan language of the Trans–New Guinea family. As of the 2000 census there were only 50 Ari speakers, living in two villages.-External links:*...

, and 2.46% speak Basketo

Basketo language

Basketo is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Basketo special woreda of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, which is part of Ethiopia. The speakers refer to the language as "Masketo", while their neighbors refer to it as "Basketo." It has said to consist of two dialects,...

; the remaining 1.4% spoke all other primary languages reported.