East Welega () 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 central

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 ...

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 ...

. This administrative division acquired its name from the former province of

Welega Welega (also spelled Wollega; ; ) was a province in western Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Wollega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries. Welega was bordered on the west by Sudan ...

. Towns and cities in this zone include

Nekemte Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market city and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 mete ...

. East Welega is bounded on the southwest by Illubabor, on the west by the

Didessa River The Didessa (pronounced: ɗeɗ:e:s:a; ) is a river in western Ethiopia. A tributary of the Abay River, it rises in the mountains of Gomma, flowing in a northwesterly direction to its confluence where the course of the Abay has curved to its sout ...

which separates it from West Welega, on the northwest and north by the

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Benishangul-Gumuz () is a regional state in northwestern 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 Er ...

, on the northeast by

Horo Guduru Welega Zone Horo Guduru Welega () is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Welega, whose eastern part lay in the area Horo Guduru Welega now occupies. Horo Guduru Welega was formed of woredas, including East Welega Z ...

, on the east by West Shewa, and on the southeast by the

Gibe River The Gibe River (also Great Gibe River) is by far the largest tributary of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia and flows generally south-southeast. The confluence of the Gibe River with the smaller Wabe River forms the Omo River. The whole dr ...

which separates it from

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 ...

. The highest point in this zone is

Mount Garochan Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

(3,276 m). 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 ...

(CSA) reported that 40,606 tons of

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

were produced in West and East Welega combined in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 35.3% of the Region's output and 17.9% of Ethiopia's total output.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 1,213,503, of whom 606,379 are men and 607,124 women; with an area of 12,579.77 square kilometers, East Welega has a population density of 96.46. While 162,854 or 7.72% are urban inhabitants, a further 28 persons are pastoralists. A total of 255,534 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.75 persons to a household, and 246,680 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported in East Welega were the

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

(87.74%) and the Amhara (10.89%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.37% of the population.

was spoken as a first language by 88.13% and 10.85% 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 1.02% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

Protestantism 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 ...

, with 48.42% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 37.04% of the population 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 ...

and 12.09% 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 ...

. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,253,432 in 252,821 households, of whom 616,565 were men and 636,867 women; 138,736 or 11.07% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in East Welega were the

(88.5%), and the Amhara (10.47%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.03% of the population.

was spoken as a first language by 89.37%, and 9.9% spoke

; the remaining 0.73% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

, with 61.74% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 16.44% of the population said they 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 ...

, 12.44% held traditional beliefs, and 8.27% were

.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.12, 2.15, 2.17 (accessed 6 April 2009).

Crime

Abo church massacre On 5 March 2021, suspected Oromo Liberation Army gunmen attacked the village of Debos Kebele killing 29 civilians. Attack On 5 March 2021, gunmen believed to be aligned with the OLA attacked the village of Debos Kebele. At Abo church, civilian ...

, 5 March 2021

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Oromia Zones of Ethiopia