Administrative Zone 1 was one of the three zones of the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n Region of Gambela. This zone was bordered on the south by Administrative Zone 2, on the west by Administrative Zone 3 and on the north and east by the

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

. It was later added to Anuak Zone. Towns and cities in this zone included Itang and Gambela. The terrain is mostly flat; rivers include the Baro, which is the only navigable river in Ethiopia, and the Alwero. A notable landmark is the

Gambela National Park Gambella National Park, also spelled Gambela National Park, is a large national park in Ethiopia. It is the nation's largest national park and is located several hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa. It was established in 1974, but is not fully pr ...

, which covers a large part of the Zone south of the Baro.

Demographics

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, this zone has an estimated total population of 67,042, of which 33,939 were males and 33,103 were females; 34,883 or 52% of its population are urban dwellers. With an estimated area of 4,696.89 square kilometers, the zone has an estimated population density of 14.27 people per square kilometer. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 45,207 in 29,688 households, of whom 23,189 were men and 22,018 women; 20,369 or 45.06% of the population were urban inhabitants. The five largest ethnic groups of the region were the Anuak (47.47%), the Nuer (24.4%), the

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

(12.09%), the Amhara (6.12%), and the

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

(2.79%); all other ethnic groups made up 7.13% of the population. Anuak is spoken as a first language by 47.56%, 24.37% speak Nuer, 12.14%

Oromiffa Oromo, historically also called Galla, is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Oromo people, native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia; and northern Kenya. It is used as a lingua franca in Oromia and n ...

, 6.64%

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

, and 2.66% speak

Tigrinya Tigrinya may refer to: * Tigrinya language Tigrinya, sometimes romanized as Tigrigna, is an Ethio-Semitic languages, Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It i ...

; the remaining 6.63% spoke all other primary languages reported. The largest group of the inhabitants said they were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, with 36.76% of the population reporting they embraced that belief, while 31.3% professed

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, 6.82% practiced traditional religions, 4.32% were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and 2.75% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Gambela Region'', Vol. 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.15, 2.18, 2.23 (accessed 1 September 2009)

Woredas

* Gambela * Itang

Notes

Gambela Gambela Region {{Gambela-geo-stub