Hosaena is a town in southern 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...

, and the administrative center of the Hadiya Zone

Hadiya Zone

Hadiya is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . This zone is named after the Hadiya of the Hadiya kingdom, whose homeland covers part of the administrative division...

. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of the former Regions 7-11 following the 1994 elections...

 (SNNPR), Hosaena has a latitude and longitude of 7°33′N 37°51′E with an elevation of 2177 meters above sea level.

A nearby landmark is the rock-hewn Dawabelo Cave, whose rock-hewn pillars suggest that it is an unfinished monolithic church

Monolithic church

A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. They are one of the most basic forms of monolithic architecture....

. An all-weather road was built in 1963 by the Gurage Road Association, which connected Hosaena to Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

 by way of Welkite

Welkite

Welkite is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region , this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 1910 and 1935 meters above sea level.According to the Gurage Zone government,...

 and Endibir

Endibir

Emdibir is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 2130 and 2164 meters above sea level...

. According to the SNNPR's Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, Hosaena's amenities include digital telephone access, postal service, 24-hour electrical service, a bank and a hospital.

History

In 1910 Hosaena became the administrative center of the province of Kambata, succeeding Angacha. The town was occupied by the Italians on 11 February 1937. By 1958 Hosaena was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as First Class Township.

In 1929, a pair of missionaries settled in the town, their efforts leading to Hosaena becoming a center of Protestant Christianity

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...

 in southern Ethiopia; as early as December 1949, the town hosted a Bible conference, attended by 800 persons. In April 1970, the administrative center of the Kembata Synod of the Mekane Yesus Church was officially moved from Durame

Durame

Durame is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Kembata Tembaro Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region , this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2101 meters above sea level...

 to Hosaena; the synod was later renamed the "South Central Synod."

Hosaena currently is one of the nineteen reform cities of the SNNPR.

Demographics

Based on figures from 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, Hosaena has an estimated total population of 57,439 of whom 28,163 are men and 29,276 are women. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 31,701 of whom 15,593 were men and 16,108 were women. However, the latest report made by the city population center, Hosaena have a total population of 89,300 in the year 2011. It is the largest town in Limo

Limo (woreda)

Limo is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. The relationship of the name of this woreda to that of the medieval kingdom in the Gibe region is unclear...

 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...

.