Liben is one of the nine Zones of 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...

. Liben 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 Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, on the northeast by Afder

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...

, and on the southeast by 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...

. Towns in Liben include Softu

Softu

Softu is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the Liben Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of .- History :...

 and Dolo

Dolo, Ethiopia

Dolo is a town in southeastern Ethiopia, within 30 kilometers of the Ethiopia-Somalia border. Located in the Liben Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of...

.

The Liben Zone has numerous social and economic ties with Somalia and the adjacent Somali populated North Eastern Province

North Eastern Province (Kenya)

North Eastern Province is the third largest province in Kenya and has thirteen constituencies represented in the Kenya National Assembly.The region is home to a rare type of antelope called the Hirola, which is classified as an endangered species. The NFD's pastoralists also possess livestock in...

 of Kenya. The two largest clans in this Zone, the Marehan

Marehan

The Marehan are a Somali clan. They are one of the major Darod sub-clans, forming a part of the Sade confederation of clans. The majority of the Marehan live in the Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwestern Somalia, as well as the Galguduud and Mudug regions in central...

, Garre

Garre

The Garre are a Somali pastoralist clan who live in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. They are sub-clan of the Digil clan. Almost all speak the Garre language, though it may be secondary to the Maay speaking sub-clan of Darrawe who speak Maay as their first language. Their urban centers include...

 and the Degodia are all "trans-national", having clansmen living across international boundaries. For example, camel

Camel

A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

s are raised in the Liban Zone, exported to Arabia through ports in southern Somalia, most importantly Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

. On the other hand, cattle and small ruminants are taken across the border and traded in livestock markets located in Kenya, the most important of these being Mandera

Mandera

Mandera is a town in North Eastern Province, Kenya. It is capital of the Mandera District. The town is located at around , near the borders with Ethiopia and Somalia. It has a population of 30,433 ....

 and the Kenya side of 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...

, although Doolow

Doolow

-Location:The city sits on the Jubba River near the Ogaden in Ethiopia, just north of Luuq.Balet Hawo District lies west of Dolow near the North Eastern Province.-District:Dolow town is the seat of one of the Gedo region's seven districts, Doolow District...

 on the Somali side is also a locally important livestock market.

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, Liben has an estimated total population of 793,761, of whom 417,012 were males and 374,749 were females; 66,864 or 11.3% of its population are urban dwellers. Information is not available for the area of this zone, so its population density cannot be calculated.

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 476,881 in 72,010 households, of whom 260,589 were men and 216,292 were women; 44,819 or 9.1% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Liben was 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...

 (99.04%); a slightly smaller share 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....

 (97.78%). Only 12,085 or 7.72% were literate.

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, 3% of the inhabitants of Liben have access to electricity, this Zone has a road density of 12.6 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. 28.2% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and an average of 28% for pastoral Regions. 23% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and none in secondary schools. 100% 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 571.

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

• Dolo Odo
  Dolo Odo
  Dolo Odo is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Liben Zone, Dolo Odo is located in the angle formed by the confluence of the Ganale Dorya with the Dawa River, and bordered to the west by Moyale, to the northwest by Liben, on the north and east by Afder Zone, and on...
  
  
• Liben
  Liben, Somali (woreda)
  Liben is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia...
  
  
• Moyale
  Moyale, Somali (woreda)
  Moyale is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Located at the extreme southwest corner of the Liben Zone, Moyale is bounded on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Oromia Region, and on the north and east by the Dawa, which separates Moyale from Liben and Dolo Odo. The...
  
  
• Udet