Fafan () is a zone in

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

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 ...

. It was previously known as the Jijiga zone, so named after its largest city,

Jijiga Jijiga (, , ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 75 km (37 mi) west of the border with Som ...

. Other towns and cities in this zone include

Awbare Awbare (, Amharic: አውበሬ), officially known as Teferi BerTeferi Ber is the name used by the Central Statistical Agency in it''Agricultural Sample Enumeration 2001-2002 (1994 E.C.): Report on Area and Production - Somali Region'' and cal ...

, Derwernache, Lefe Isa, Babile,

Kebri Beyah Kebri Beyah () is a city and woreda in Somali Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Kebri Beyah is bordered on the south by the Degehabur Zone, on the southwest by the Fiq Zone, on the northwest by Gursum, on the north by Jijiga and Awbare, on the ...

Harshin Harshin () is a town and the capital of the Harshin (woreda), Harshin woreda, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, near the border with Somaliland. Notable people *Eid Daahir Farah - Former president of Somali Region. He was Born in Harshin. Demo ...

, Goljano,

Tuli Gulled Tuli Gulled () is a district in the Faafan zone of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Tuli Guleed is bordered on the north by Sitti, on the east by the district of Lafaciise, on the south by Jigjiga and on the west by the Chinaksen in the Oromia ...

and

Hart Sheik Hart Sheik () is a town located in eastern Ethiopia, in the Somali Region. Hart Sheik is primarily inhabited by the Sacad Muuse sub-clan of the Habar Awal Isaaq Somali people The Somali people (, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic eth ...

. Fafan is bordered on the south by Jarar, on the southwest by Nogob, on the west 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 north by

Sitti Sitti Katrina Baiddin Navarro-Ramirez (born November 29, 1984 in Las Piñas), known professionally as Sitti, is a Filipino bossa nova singer. After releasing her first album, '' Café Bossa'', in 2006, other bossa nova acts in the Philippines fo ...

, and on the east by

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

Demographics

Based on the 2014 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 1,190,794 of whom 616,810 are men and 541,4794 women. Based on the 2007 Census 203,588 or 21.04% are urban inhabitants, a further 72,153 or 11.59% were pastoralists. Two largest ethnic groups reported in Jijiga were the

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

(95.6%) and

Amhara Amhara may refer to: * Amhara people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia * Amharic, a language spoken by the Amhara people * Bete Amhara, a lordship and later province of medieval Ethiopia * Amhara Province, a historical region of Ethiopia * Amhara Region ...

(1.83%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.57% of the population.

Somali language Somali is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Somalis, Somali people, native to Greater Somalia. It is an official language in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethio ...

is spoken as a first language by 95.51%,

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 ...

by 2.1%, and

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 ...

by 1.05%; the remaining 1.34% spoke all other primary languages reported. 96.86% 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 ...

, and 2.11% said they practiced Orthodox Christian. There are three settlements in the zone for refugees from Somalia, with 40,060 registered individuals. The 1997 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 813,200 in 138,679 households, of whom 425,581 were men and 387,619 were women; 155,891 or 19.17% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Fafan were the Somali (87.51%), the

(7.49%), and the

(2.13%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 2.87% of the population. Somali was spoken by 90.23% of the inhabitants, 6.68%

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 ...

, and 2.81% spoke

; the remaining 0.28% spoke all other primary languages reported. Only 61,293 or 7.54% were literate. According to a May 24, 2004

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

memorandum, 7% of the inhabitants of Fafan have access to electricity, this Zone has a road density of 30.5 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 1.3 hectares of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectares of land and an average of 2.25 for pastoral regions) and the equivalent of 1.0 head of livestock. 28.2% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a regional average of 28%. 21% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 9% in secondary schools. 74% of the zone is exposed to

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and none to

Tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 386. In 2006, the Fafan Zone was affected by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

due to charcoal production.

Districts

Based on the 2024 Census by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia's

(CSA), out of all the districts,

has the largest population.

Notes

{{Districts of the Somali Region Somali Region Zones of Ethiopia Jijiga