Gursum, Oromia (woreda)
Encyclopedia
Gursum is one of the 180 woreda
s in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. Part of the Misraq (East) Hararghe Zone
, Gursum is bordered on the south by Babille
, on the west by the Harari Region
, on the north by Jarso
, and on the east by the Somali Region
. The administrative center of the woreda is Fugnan Bira
.
, 22.4% built-up, and the remaining 39.8% is considered degraded or otherwise unusable. Groundnut
s are an important cash crop for this woreda. Coffee
is another important cash crop; between 20 and 50 square kilometers are planted with it.
Industry in the woreda includes 10 grain mills and one brick factory employing 44 people, as well as 314 registered business including wholesalers, retailers and service providers; although feldspar
, quartz
and garnet
deposits are known to exist, only dolomite
and granite
are quarried. There were 36 Farmers Associations with 25,727 members and one Farmers Service Cooperatives with 1336 members. Gursum has 75 kilometers of gravel and 30 kilometers of road, for an average road density of 119.7 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 4.2% of the rural and 21.2% of the urban population have access to drinking water
.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 211,593, of whom 105,509 are men and 106,084 are women; 15,478 or 7.31% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 6.9%. With an estimated area of 876.57 square kilometers, Gursum has an estimated population density of 241.4 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 102.6.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 151,405, of whom 76,2467 were men and 75,159 women; 8,657 or 5.72% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gursum were the Oromo
(81.32%), the Somali
(15.5%), and the Amhara
(2.71%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.47% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 67.87%, 28.8% spoke Somali
, and 3.01% spoke Amharic
; the remaining 0.32% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim
, with 96.8% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 2.92% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.
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 Oromia Region
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...
. Part of the Misraq (East) Hararghe Zone
Misraq Hararghe Zone
Misraq Hararghe is one of the 17 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. Misraq Hararge takes its name from the former province of Hararghe. Misraq Hararge is bordered on the southwest by the Shebelle River which separates it from Bale, on the west by Mirab Hararghe, on the north by Dire Dawa and...
, Gursum is bordered on the south by Babille
Babille, Oromia (woreda)
Babille is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after one of the 12 major tribes of the Oromo people, the Babille Oromo. Part of the Misraq Hararghe Zone, Babille is bordered on the south and east by the Somali Region, on the west by Fedis, and on the north by...
, on the west by the Harari Region
Harari Region
Harari or officially, Harari People's National Regional State is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, covering the homeland of the Harari people...
, on the north by Jarso
Jarso (Hararge)
Jarso is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Hararghe Zone, Jarso is bordered on the south by the Harari Region, on the west by Kombolcha, on the north by the city of Dire Dawa, on the east by the Somali Region, and on the southeast by Gursum...
, 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 administrative center of the woreda is Fugnan Bira
Fugnan Bira
Fugnan Bira is a town in east-central Ethiopia. It is commonly known by its more recent name, Gursum. Located in the Misraq Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, on a high plateau at the southern base of Mount Kondudo, which gives the town a climate similar to Harar...
.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1200 to 2950 meters above sea level; Kondudo and Medero are amongst the highest points. Perennial rivers include the Hariro, Goro Obole, Bombas, Ejerti, and Agemsa. A survey of the land in this woreda (reported in 1996) shows that 15.7% is arable or cultivable, 8.9% pasture, 13.2% forestForestry in Ethiopia
In the late nineteenth century, about 30% of Ethiopia was covered with forest. The clearing of land for agricultural use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually changed the scene, and today forest areas have dwindled to less than 4% of Ethiopia's total land. The northern parts of the highlands...
, 22.4% built-up, and the remaining 39.8% is considered degraded or otherwise unusable. Groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s are an important cash crop for this woreda. Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
is another important cash crop; between 20 and 50 square kilometers are planted with it.
Industry in the woreda includes 10 grain mills and one brick factory employing 44 people, as well as 314 registered business including wholesalers, retailers and service providers; although feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and garnet
Garnet
The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" may come from either the Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', or the Latin granatus , possibly a reference to the Punica granatum , a plant with red seeds...
deposits are known to exist, only dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
are quarried. There were 36 Farmers Associations with 25,727 members and one Farmers Service Cooperatives with 1336 members. Gursum has 75 kilometers of gravel and 30 kilometers of road, for an average road density of 119.7 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 4.2% of the rural and 21.2% of the urban population have access to 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...
.
Demographics
Based on figures published 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...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 211,593, of whom 105,509 are men and 106,084 are women; 15,478 or 7.31% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 6.9%. With an estimated area of 876.57 square kilometers, Gursum has an estimated population density of 241.4 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 102.6.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 151,405, of whom 76,2467 were men and 75,159 women; 8,657 or 5.72% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gursum 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...
(81.32%), 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...
(15.5%), and 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...
(2.71%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.47% 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 67.87%, 28.8% 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....
, and 3.01% 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...
; the remaining 0.32% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants 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...
, with 96.8% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 2.92% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.