Dawuro (or Dawro) is a

zone 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 Southwest Region of

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 ...

. The name "Dawuro" represents both the land and the people. It is located at about 500km southwest of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, the capital of Ethiopia, about 111 km west of

Wolaita Sodo Sodo () or officially Wolaita Sodo (, ) is a city in south Ethiopia. The city is a political and administrative center of the Wolaita Zone and South Ethiopia Regional State. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between above ...

, the capital of

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 ...

and 319 km of

Hawassa Hawassa (; ʾäwasa, also spelled Awassa or Awasa) known historically as Adare is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Hawassa in the Great Rift Valley. It is south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, east of Sodo, and north of Dilla. The ...

the capital of the

Sidama Region The Sidama Region (Sidama language, Sidama: ; ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in southern Ethiopia. It was formed on 18 June 2020 from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and transformation of the Sidama ...

. Dawuro is bordered to the south by Gofa Zone, to the west by the Konta Zone to the north by the Jimma zone, to the northeast by Hadiya and Tembaro Special Woreda in

Central Ethiopia Regional State The Central Ethiopia Regional State is a regional state in Ethiopia. It was formed from northern part of the then Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) on 19 August 2023. Its formation was effected when South Ethiopia Regio ...

, and to the east by

Wolayita Zone Wolayita or Wolaita is an administrative Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Ethiopia. Wolayita is bordered on the south by Gamo Zone, on the west by the Omo River (Ethiopia), Omo River which separates it from Dawro Zone, Dawro, on the northwest by Kem ...

. The second-biggest hydroelectric power generation dam in Ethiopia,

Gilgel Gibe III Dam The Gilgel Gibe III Dam is a 250m high roller-compacted concrete dam with an associated hydroelectric power plant on the Omo River in Ethiopia. It is located about west of Sodo in the South Ethiopia Regional State. Once fully commissioned, it ...

, is being built on Omo river between Dawuro and Wolayita zones. Dawuro contains many tourist attractions. The newly built Halala Kela Luxury Resort is located at Gilgel Gibe III Dam in Loma (woreda) of Dawuro zone. The administrative center of Dawuro is Tarcha. Tarcha is situated at 70 14' north latitude and 370 5' east longitude and 1200m to approximately 1450m above sea level. Tarcha is 496 km from Addis Ababa through

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...

, and 489 km through

Sodo Sodo () or officially Wolaita Sodo (, ) is a city in south Ethiopia. The city is a political and administrative center of the Wolaita Zone and South Ethiopia Regional State. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between abov ...

. The second largest town in the Dawuro zone is Gesa. Dawuro has 111 kilometers of all-weather roads and 123 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 53 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. High points in this Zone include Atto, Issera, Umbuti, and Sadam among others. Dawuro used to be part of the North Omo Zone, and the 1994 national census counted its inhabitants as part of that Zone. However friction between the various ethnic groups in North Omo zone, which was often blamed on the

Wolayta people The Welayta ( Ge'ez: ወላይታ ''Wolayta'') are an ethnic group located in Southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate (2017), the people of Wolayta numbered 5.83 million in Welayta Zone. The language of the Wolayta people, simil ...

for "ethnic chauvinism" and despite the efforts of the ruling party to emphasize the need to coordinate, consolidate, and unify the smaller ethnic units to achieve the "efficient use of scarce government resources", led to the division of the zone in 2000, resulting with the creation of the Dawuro, Gamo Gofa, and Wolayita Zones, and two special districts.

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 489,577, of whom 249,263 are men and 240,314 women; with an area of 4,814.52 square kilometers, Dawuro has a population density of 101.69. While 35,044 or 7.16% are urban inhabitants, a further 14 individuals are pastoralists. A total of 89,915 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 5.44 persons to household, and 86,642 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported in this zone included the Dawro (97.32%), and the Hadiya (1.3%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.38% of the population. Dawurtsho is spoken as a first language by 97.44% of the inhabitants, and 1.3% speak Hadiya; the remaining 1.26% spoke all other primary languages reported. 57.71% of the population said they 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 ...

, 31.86% practiced

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 ...

, 4.9% observed traditional religions, and 4.61% embraced

Catholicism 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 ...

.Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4. Dawro is one of the ethnic groups in Ethiopia that uses its own character set of the Ethiopic syllabary.

Woredas

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 ...

s and town administration districts in the Dawro Zone include: * Esera (woreda) * Kechi woreda *

Tocha (woreda) Tocha is one of the woredas in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Dawro Zone, Tocha is bordered on the south by Isara and Kechi woreda, on the west by the Kechi and Tarcha zuria woreda, on the north by Tarcha zuria wor ...

* Mari Mansa woreda * Mareka (woreda) * Loma (woreda) * Disa woreda * Zaba Gazo woreda * Gena Woreda * Tarcha Zuriya woreda * Tarcha Town administration * Gesaown Administration * Wakw, Waka Town administration * Bale Town Administration Former woredas include: * Esera * Tocha * Loma * Gena-Bossa *

Mareka Mareka is one of the woredas in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Dawro Zone, Mareka is bordered on the southwest by Isara, on the west by Tocha, on the northeast by Gena Bosa, and on the southeast by Loma. Towns ...

References

{{Districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region Zones of Ethiopia South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region