Metu is a market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

 in southwestern 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...

. Located in the Illubabor Zone

Illubabor Zone

Illubabor is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Illubabor is named for the former province Illubabor. It is bordered on the south by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, on the southwest by the Gambela Region, on the west by Misraq Welega, on the north by the...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

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

 (or kilil) along the Sor River

Sor River

The Sor is a river of southwestern Ethiopia. A tributary of the Gebba River on its left side, the Sor rises in Sayo....

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 8°18′N 35°35′E and an altitude of 1605 meters. Metu was the capital of the former Illubabor Province

Illubabor Province

Illubabor was a province in the south-western part of Ethiopia, along the border with Sudan. The name Illubabor is said to come from two Oromo words, "Illu" and "Abba Bor". "Illu" is a name of a clan, and "Abba Bor" was the horse name of Chali Shone, who founded the ruling family of the area when...

 from 1978 until the adoption of the new constitution in 1995

1995 Constitution of Ethiopia

The current Constitution of Ethiopia, which is the supreme law of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in December 1994 and came into force in August 1995. The constitution was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly elected in June of that year.The...

.

Metu has been an important market of the 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,...

 trade, with several foreigners residing in the town as early as the 1930s to buy the crops from local farmers. At this early date, the town was connected by telephone to Gore

Gore, Ethiopia

Gore is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located south of Metu in the Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2085 meters....

 and Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

. The town's source of electricity is a single generator; the Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia describes how it "chugs and puffs bravely for an hour or two before it is closed down and darkness and silence fall over the town."

Metu is known for its local waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s, the best known being the Sor Falls and their surrounding forest with its wildlife.

History

On 9 July 1927, the Greek

Greeks in Ethiopia

The Greek community in Ethiopia today numbers about 500 persons and can be traced back to the 18th century. It is mainly located in the capital, Addis Ababa, and the city of Dire Dawa.-History:The name Ethiopia itself is Greek and means "of burned face"...

 nationals T. Zewos and A. Donalis were awarded a contract to link the town and Gore by road with Gambela

Gambela, Ethiopia

Gambela is a city in Ethiopia and the capital of the Gambela Region or kilil. Located in Administrative Zone 1, at the confluence of the Baro River and its tributary the Jajjaba, the city has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 526 meters....

, a distance of 180 kilometers. In the 1930s, Metu was the last stop before reaching Gore. At the time it was a center for mule caravans and later also as a terminal for the Ethiopian Transport Motor Company.

The private weekly Urji reported 11 July 1995 that some 400 prisoners reportedly escaped when a grenade was set off at the Bisheri prison in Metu. The prison guards were killed immediately as well as at least six other people.

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, Metu has an estimated total population of 22,103 of whom 11,442 are men and 10,661 are women. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 19,298 of whom 9,686 were men and 9,612 were women. It is the largest settlement in Metu

Metu (woreda)

Metu is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Illubabor Zone, Metu is bordered on the south by Ale, on the southwest by Bure, on the west by the Mirab Welega Zone, on the north by Darimu, on the northeast by Supena Sodo, on the east by Yayu and on the southeast by...

 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...

.