Masha is a town in south-western

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Located in the

Sheka Zone Sheka is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. Sheka is bordered on the south by Bench Maji, on the west by the Gambela Region, on the north by the Oromia Region, and on the east by Keffa. The administrative center of Sheka is Masha. She ...

in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2223 meters above sea level. Masha had been the administrative center of the Sheka Zone until 1996 when that Zone was combined with the

Keffa Zone Keffa or Kaffa, is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The administrative center is Bonga. History The Zone is named after the Kingdom of Kaffa. Kaffa was part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) until ...

to create the Kaficho Shekacho Zone, when it was demoted to the administrative center of only the

Masha Anderacha Masha Anderacha was one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Keficho Shekicho Zone, Masha Anderacha was bordered on the south by Yeki, on the west and north by the Oromia Region, and ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

. When the two former Zones were re-created towards the end of 2000, Masha once again became the capital of the restored Sheka Zone. According to the SNNPR's Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, Masha's amenities include electrical service provided by a diesel generator, a bank, and a branch of one of the local

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

organizations. In 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed the Masha Anderacha woreda as part of a voluntary resettlement program, which led to the local settlement of over 2,000 people from other areas.

Demographics

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) 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 ...

in 2005, Masha has an estimated total population of 11,122 of whom 5,393 are men and 5,729 are women.CSA 2005 National Statistics
, Table B.4 The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 6,138 of whom 2,986 were men and 3,152 were women.

References

Populated places in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region {{SouthernNationsET-geo-stub