Majang Zone
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The Mezhenger Zone or Majang Zone is a zone in
Gambela Region The Gambela Region, also spelled Gambella, and officially the Gambela Peoples' Region (), is a regional state in western Ethiopia. Previously known as Region 12, its capital and largest city is Gambela. It is bordered by the Oromia Region to t ...
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 is named for one of the three largest indigenous groups in Gambela, the
Majangir The Majang people, or ''Majangir'', live in southwestern Ethiopia and speak a Nilo-Saharan language of the Surmic cluster. The 1998 census gave the total of the Majangir population as 15,341, but since they live scattered in the hills in dispersed ...
. This zone is bordered on the south and east by the
Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; ) was a regional state in southwestern Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of five ''kililoch'', called Regions 7 to 11, following the regional council ele ...
(SNNPR), on the west by the Anuak Zone, and on the north 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 ...
. Towns in this Zone include
Meti Meti is a town in south-western Ethiopia, located in Godere woreda of the Gambela Region The Gambela Region, also spelled Gambella, and officially the Gambela Peoples' Region (), is a regional state in western Ethiopia. Previously known as ...
.


Overview

The area of the Mezhenger Zone lies to the east of the escarpment which borders the edge of the lowlands which define the majority of the area of the Gambela Region. The terrain is predominantly hilly, and elevations range 550–1260 meters above sea level. According to the ''Atlas of the Ethiopian Rural Economy'' published 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 ...
(CSA), over 40% of the Zone is forest. This Zone covers the extent of the original special woreda of Godere, which was made part of the Administrative Zone 2 between 1994 and 2001. Subsequently, but before 2007, a number of
kebele A ward (; ; ) is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia: a ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. Somali word that has meaning of collected people where water is fairly sufficient and available to prolongue thei ...
s were split off to create Mengesh and both woredas became the Mezhenger Zone.


Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 59,248, of whom 30,567 are men and 28,681 women; with an area of 2,254.65 square kilometers, Mezhenger Zone has a population density of 26.28. Reportedly 7,140 or 12.05% are urban inhabitants. A total of 15,661 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 3.8 persons to a household, and 15,242 housing units. The main ethnicities of this Zone are the Amhara (26.96%), Kafficho (25.17%), Majangir (16.86%), Shakacho (11.67%),
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 ...
(8.84%), and all other ethnic groups 10.5%. Languages spoken in this Zone include
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 ...
(37.08%), Kafa (22.89%), Sheko (12.78%), and
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 ...
9.91%; only a negligible number of inhabitants speak
Majang The Majang people, or ''Majangir'', live in southwestern Ethiopia and speak a Nilo-Saharan language of the Surmic cluster. The 1998 census gave the total of the Majangir population as 15,341, but since they live scattered in the hills in dispersed ...
. The religion with the largest number of believers is Orthodox Christian with 46.5% of the population, while other groups with sizable followings are
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 ...
, 36.4%, and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
15.42%.Census 2007 Tables: Gambela Region
, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godere Special Woreda Zones of Ethiopia Gambela Region