
Kembata is a zone in the
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 ...
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 ...
. It was formerly known as ''Kembata, Alaba and Tembaro'', until
Alaba and
Tembaro became a
special woreda in 2002 and 2023 respectively. This zone is named after the
Kambaata people
Kambaata (Amharic: ከምባታ) is a Cushitic ethnic group in south-central Ethiopia, specifically in Kambaata Zone in Central Ethiopia Regional State. It is also known as Cambat, Kambata, Cambatta, Kambatta or Khambat by various historians a ...
which gained zonal posture following the establishment of Central Ethiopian region in 2023.
The zone is bordered on the south by
Wolayita Welayta, Wolayta, Wolayita or Wolaita may refer to:
* Wolayta people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia
* Wolaytta language, spoken by the Welayta people
* Wolayita Zone, a zone in SNNPR, Ethiopia
* Kingdom of Welaytta, a Welaytta kingdom founded in medi ...
, on the southwest by
Dawro
Dawuro (or Dawro) is a zone in the Southwest Region of Ethiopia. The name "Dawuro" represents both the land and the people. It is located at about 500km southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, about 111 km west of Wolaita Sodo, the ...
, on west by
Tembaro special woreda, on the northwest by
Hadiya, on the north by
Gurage
Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone and East Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mounta ...
, on the east by the Alaba special woreda, and on the southeast by an
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of the Hadiya Zone. The administrative center is
Durame
Durame is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Kembata Tembaro Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2101 meters above se ...
; other important towns include
Shinshicho. Other local landmarks include the three mountains of
Ambaricho, Kataa, and Datoo, and the hot springs at Motokoma. The longest river in the area is the
Lagabora which in
Kambaata means the "river of Bora".
Kembata has 217 kilometers of all-weather roads and 140 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 249 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. 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 8,364 tons of coffee were produced in Gurage, Hadiya and Kembata in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 8.33% of the SNNPR's output and 3.36% of Ethiopia's total output.
Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 680,837, of whom 336,676 are men and 344,161 women; with an area of 1,355.89 square kilometers, Kembata has a population density of 502.13. While 97,797 or 14.36% are urban inhabitants, a further 35 individuals are pastoralists. A total of 122,580 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 5.55 persons to a household, and 118,077 housing units. The five largest ethnic groups reported were the
Kambaata (61.48%), the Tembaro (26.46%), the Donga (14.81%) the
Hadiya (5.5%), and the
Wolayta (1.75%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.73% of the population.
Kambaata was spoken as a first language by 61.48%, 26.46% spoke Tembaro, 5.56% spoke
Hadiya, and 1.29%
Wolaytta; the remaining 1.13% spoke all other primary languages reported. 83.6% 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 ...
, 6.55% 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 ...
, 5.94% 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 ...
, and 3.07% 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 the Kembata, Alaba, and Tembaro Zone had a population of 727,340 in 137,259 households, of whom 362,921 were men and 364,419 women; 50,987 or 7.01% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported were the
Kambaata (55.21%), the
Alaba (13.78%), the Tembaro (20.9%), the
Silte (8.52%) and the
Hadiya (5.47%); all other ethnic groups made up 6.07% of the population.
Kambaata was spoken as a first language by 55.44%, 13.99% spoke
Alaba, 10.71% Tembaro, 8.37%
Silte, and 5.61% spoke
Hadiya; the remaining 5.88% spoke all other primary languages reported. 48.96% 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 ...
, 29.84% 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 ...
, 12.22% 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 ...
, 6.21% 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 ...
, and 1.53% observed traditional religions.
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, 2% of the inhabitants of Kembata Tembaro have access to electricity; the zone has a road density of 109.8 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, compared to the national average of 30 kilometers; the average rural household has 0.6 hectare of land, compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land, and an average of 0.89 for the SNNPR; the equivalent of 0.5 heads of livestock; 10.7% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a regional average of 32%. 73% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 23% in secondary schools. Although 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 ...
, none of the area is exposed 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 320.
World Bank, ''Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization''
(accessed 23 March 2006).
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 of Kembata Tembaro Zone are:
* Angacha
* Damboya
* Doyogena
* Durame Town
* Hadero Tunto
* Kacha Bira
* Kedida Gamela
Kedida Gamela is a woreda in the Central Ethiopia Regional State of Ethiopia. Part of the Kembata Zone. Kedida Gamela is bordered on the east and south by an Misraq Badawacho woreda of the Hadiya Zone, on the west by Kacha Bira, on the northwe ...
* Adilo Zuria
Former
* Omo Sheleko
Notes
External links
Kembata Development Network
KMG: Kembatta Women's Self-Help Center
{{coord, 7, 15, N, 37, 50, E, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:ET
Central Ethiopia Regional State
Zones of Ethiopia
Zones in Central Ethiopia Regional State