
Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a
zone
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
in
Oromia Region
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar ...
of
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 Er ...
, named after a clan of the
Oromo, who inhabit in the area.
Arsi is bordered on the south by
Bale Zone
( Oromo: Aaana ''Baalee'') is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
Bale is bordered on the south by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Guji Zone, on the west by the West Arsi Zone, on the north by Arsi Zone, on the northeast by the S ...
, on the southwest by the
West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by
East Shewa Zone, on the north by the
Afar Region and on the east by
West Hararghe Zone. It covers an area of 19,825.22 km
2, divided into 25
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
s (''weredas''). The population was officially estimated at 3,894,248 in mid 2022.
The highest point in Arsi Zone is
Mount Chilalo; other notable mountains in this zone include
Mount Kaka and
Mount Gugu Mount Gugu is a mountain in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 3623 meters.Elevation per Ethiopian Mapping Authority2010 National Statistics (Abstract): climate ...
.
Arsi Mountains National Park was created in 2011 to protect a section of the mountains. The administrative centre of this zone is in
Asela, with an estimated 139,537 inhabitants in mid 2022;
other towns in this zone (with estimated populations in mid 2022) include Bokoji (36,805) in
Limuna Bilbilo District, Robe (31,445) in
Robe
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...
District, Etaya (31,094) in
Hitosa
Hitosa ( om, Heexxoosaa) is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Aanaa of Lude Hitosa was separated from Hitosa. Part of the Arsi Zone, Hitosa is bordered on the south by Digeluna Tijo, on the southwest by Tiyo, on th ...
District, Dera (30,676) in
Dodota Dodota is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone it is located in the Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia, Great Rift Valley. It is part of the former Dodotana Sire woreda, which was divided for Dod ...
District, Abomsa (30,377) in
Merti District, Hurta (27,523) in
Lude Hitosa District, Sagure (24,932) in
Digeluna Tijo District, and Kersa (23,313) in
Munesa District.
[ Some districts in the southwestern part of this zone were separated from Arsi Zone to create a new West Arsi Zone.
]
History
Aanolee massacre
In Hitosa
Hitosa ( om, Heexxoosaa) is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Aanaa of Lude Hitosa was separated from Hitosa. Part of the Arsi Zone, Hitosa is bordered on the south by Digeluna Tijo, on the southwest by Tiyo, on th ...
, the Aanolee massacre took place on 6 September 1886, in which Emperor Menelik II's army massacred 11,000 Arsi Oromo in one day, cutting women's breasts and men's hands.
In 2014, a monument has been erected to remember the victims.
Economy
Coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
has been a major cash crop in Arsi as early as 1912, when two Belgian companies were granted concessions of 1,464 hectares of land for cultivating coffee in the area of the current Zone. After World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, these companies encountered financial difficulties and merged, and harvested as much as 613 tons of coffee at their peak (1931-21). The Central Statistical Agency (CSA), reported that 2198 tons of coffee were produced in this zone in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 1.9% of the Region's output and 0.97% of Ethiopia's total output. Arsi University was established in 2014 at Asella.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 2,637,657, of whom 1,323,424 are men and 1,314,233 women; with an area of 19,825.22 square kilometres, Arsi has a population density of 133.05. While 305,701 or 11.59% are urban inhabitants, a further 7,098 or 0.27% are pastoralists. A total of 541,959 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.87 persons to a household, and 523,342 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported were the Oromo (84.15%) and the Amhara (14.3%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.55% of the population. Oromiffa
Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushiti ...
was spoken as a first language by 81.38% and Amharic was spoken by 17.76%; the remaining 0.86% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 58.1% of the population having reported they practised that belief, while 40.01% of the population professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
and 1.43% of the population professed Protestantism
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. The official estimate of population for this zone was 3,894,248 as at mid 2022, of which 1,944,164 were male and 1,950,084 were female; the population density was 196.4 per km2.[
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 2,217,245 in 438,561 households, of whom 1,105,439 were men and 1,111,806 women; 216,413 or 9.76% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Arsi were the Oromo (82.93%), and the Amhara (15.38%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.69% of the population. ]Oromiffa
Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushiti ...
was spoken as a first language by 80.01%, and 19.19% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.8% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 59.33% of the population having reported they practised that belief, while 39.95% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
.
According to a May 24, 2004 World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
memorandum, 4% of the inhabitants of Arsi have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 45.0 kilometres per 1000 square kilometres (compared to the national average of 30 kilometres), the average rural household has 1.2 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 1.14 for the Oromia Region) and the equivalent of 1.1 heads of livestock. 16.5% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 24%. Concerning education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...
, 84% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 22% in secondary schools. 17% of the zone is exposed to malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...
, and none to Tsetse fly. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 364.World Bank, ''Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization''
(accessed 23 March 2006).
Notes
{{coord, 7, 45, N, 39, 30, E, display=title, type:adm3rd_region:ET
Oromia Region
Zones of Ethiopia