Burji Zone is one of the

zones Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...

in the

South Ethiopia Regional State The South Ethiopia Regional State (Amharic: ደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ክልላዊ መንግስት) is a region in southern Ethiopia. It was formed from the southern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) on 19 A ...

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 ...

. In August 2023 Burji special Woreda got zonal status upon the formation of South Ethiopia Region. In 2011, the

Segen Area Peoples Zone ''Segen'' is a German word translating to "blessing, benediction; charm; prayer; spell, incantation". It is in origin a loan from Latin ''signum'' ''sīgnāre'' "to make a sign", viz. the Sign of the Cross used to confer a Christian blessing, Th ...

was established, which includes Burji woreda and the 3 former special woredas surrounding it. It is named for the

Burji people Burji can refer to * Burji dynasty, a dynasty that ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517 * Burji people, an ethnic group in Ethiopia and Kenya * Burji language, a language spoken in Ethiopia and Kenya * Burji special woreda, an administrative subdivisi ...

, who have their homeland in this zone. Burji is bordered on the east and 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

Konso Zone Konso is a zone in the South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. It was formerly a woreda. Prior to 2011, Konso was not part of any Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and was therefore considered a special ...

, and on the north by the

Amaro Zone Amaro Zone (Koore) is a zone in the south-west Ethiopian Regional State of Ethiopia, and the people are called Koore, and their language is Korigna. The Amaro Koore people are the descendants of the Christian missioners of the north Ethiopian ...

. The administrative center of Burji is

Soyama Soyama is a town in southern Ethiopia, and is the administrative center of the Burji special woreda. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1660 meters abo ...

. Burji has 86 kilometers of all-weather roads and 20 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 80 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.

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 zone has a total population of 155,681, of whom 76,439 are men and 79,241 women; with an area of 1,128.40 square kilometers, Burji has a population density of 97.35. While 11.27% are urban inhabitants, a further 12 individuals are pastoralists. A total of 29,690 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 5.24 persons to a household. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Burji were the Burji (80.15%), koore (15.38%) and the

Konso Karat is a town in south-western Ethiopia and the capital of the Konso Zone in the new South Ethiopia Regional State. Situated 20 km north of the Sagan River at an elevation of , it is also called Pakawle by some of the neighboring inhabita ...

(1.03%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.44% of the population. Burji was spoken as a first language by 76.31% of the inhabitants, 15.38% spoke

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 ...

, 5.39% Koorete, and 1.07%

; the remaining 1.85% spoke all other primary languages reported. 42.8% were

Protestants 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 ...

, 35.82% of the population said they were

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 ...

, and 20.93% 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 ...

. In the 1994 Census this woreda had a population of 108,331 in 20,409 households, of whom 53,190 were men and 55,141 women; 11.47% of its population were urban dwellers. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Burji were the Burji (84.54%), the Koore (11.75%), the

(1.3%), and the Amhara (1.06%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.35% of the population. Burji was spoken as a first language by 80.47% of the inhabitants, 13.81% spoke

3.9% Koorete, 0.87%

, and 0.66% spoke

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 ...

; the remaining 0.29% spoke all other primary languages reported. 42.71% of the population said they were

, 24.05% were

, 18.05% practiced traditional religions, and 14.29% were

. Concerning

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, 24.19% of the population were considered literate; 14.48% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school; 1.62% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school, and 1.01% of the inhabitants aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning

sanitary conditions Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...

, about 3% of the urban houses and 9% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; 39% of the urban and 6% of the total had toilet facilities.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region'', Vol. 1, part 2
, Tables 6.3, 6.11, 6.13 (accessed 17 April 2009)

Notes

{{Districts of the South Ethiopia Regional State Zones of South Ethiopia Regional State Zones of Ethiopia