Awash Fentale is a

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

Afar Region The Afar Region (; ; ), formerly known as Region 2, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash, Ethiopia, Awash� ...

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 ...

. Part of the Administrative Zone 3, Awash Fentale is bordered on the south 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 ...

, on the west by the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

, on the north by Dulecha, and on the east by Amibara. Towns in Awash Fentale include Awash Sebat Kilo and Sabure. Rivers in this woreda include the Awash and its tributary the Germama. A large portion of this woreda is occupied by the

Awash National Park Awash National Park is a National parks in Ethiopia, national park in Ethiopia. Located at the border of Oromia state and Afar Region, Afar state, the park covers an area of 827 square kilometers, most of it lies at an altitude of 900 meters. ...

. The dire conditions of the 2002 drought led local pastoralists, which included members of the Afar,

Karayu The ''Karrayyu'' are an Oromo people clan inhabiting the Awash Valley banks of Abadir and Merti area in central Ethiopia. They are pastoralists. Karrayyu neighbor the Afar and Argobba people. It is believed the extinct Harla ethnicity were assimi ...

and the

Ittu Oromo Ituu () is one of the clans of the Oromo people. This group lives dominantly in the present-day West Hararghe Zone. The correct term for the land of Ituus is "Chercher" or "Ona Ituu" (the Ituu Province). It is believed the extinct Harla ethnicity ...

, to armed conflicts over grazing and water access.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by 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 ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 29,780, of whom 15,475 are men and 14,305 women; with an area of 1,046.41 square kilometers, Awash Fentale has a population density of 28.46. While 16,849 or 56.58% are urban inhabitants, a further 1,695 or 5.69% are pastoralists. A total of 7,421 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 4.0 persons to a household, and 7,751 housing units. 68.26% of the population said they 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 ...

, 25.75% were Orthodox Christians, and 5.21% 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 ...

Agriculture

A sample enumeration performed by the CSA in 2001 interviewed 2303 farmers in this woreda, who held an average of 0.64 hectares of land. Of the 1.47 square kilometers of private land surveyed, 63.3% was under cultivation, 1.89% pasture, 24.83% fallow, and 9.96% was devoted to other uses; none was used as woodland. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 33.22% was planted in cereals like

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, 10.71% in vegetables, and 20.53% in root crops; none of the land was planted in pulses. A further 0.03 hectares was planted in fruit trees. All of the farmers claimed that they only raised livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed between 91.06% owned their land, 4.51% rented, and the remaining 4.43% held their land under other forms of tenure."Central Statistical Authority of Ethiopia. Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSE2001). Report on Area and Production - Afar Region. Version 1.1 - December 2007"
(accessed 26 January 2009)

Notes

{{coord, 9, 06, N, 40, 02, E, dim:100000_region:ET-AF, display=title Districts of Afar Region