Rayitu is one of the

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s in 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 ...

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 ...

. Located in East Bale zone or Eastern part of the

Bale Zone Bale Zone (Oromo language, Oromo: Godina ''Baalee'') is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Bale is bordered on the south by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Guji Zone, on the west by the Shashamane, on the nort ...

, Rayitu is bordered on the south by the

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 ...

, on the west by

Ginir Ginir (also transliterated Ghinnir) is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the East Bale Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 1750 and 1986 meters above sea level. Ginir is the ...

, and on the north and east by

Seweyna Seweyna is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the eastern part of the Bale Zone, Seweyna is bordered on the south by Raytu, on the southwest by Ginir, on the northwest by Gaserana Gololcha, on the north by Legehida, a ...

; the Gestro River (or

Weyib River Weyib River (also ''Webi Gestro''; ''Wabē Gestro'' or ''Webi'' River) is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It rises in the Bale Mountains east of Goba in the Oromia Region, flowing east to pass through the Sof Omar Caves, then to the southeast until i ...

) defines the southwest boundary. Towns in Raytu include Dhedecha Bela Town.

Overview

The geography of this woreda consists of mountainous terrain along the northern and southern edges, while the remainder is dominated by a flat plain. High points include Mount Elwak. Perennial rivers include the

Shabelle The Shebelle River ( Oromo: Laga Shabeellee, , , ) also known historically as the Nile of Mogadishu, begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where ...

, Weyib, and Dinikte. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 17% is arable (15% was under annual crops), 39% pasture, 37%

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

or heavy vegetation, and the remaining 7% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable.

Teff ''Teff'' (), also known as ''Eragrostis tef'', Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to Ethiopia, where it first originated in the Ethiopian Highlands. It is cultivated for its edible seed ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

are important local crops.''Socio-economic profile of the Bale Zone''
Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006) However raising livestock is a more important source of food and income, which include in order of importance shoats, camels and cattle. Rayitu is a chronically food insecure woreda, and food aid is needed an average of five to six months in an average year. Industry in the woreda consists of a few small-scale establishments, as well as some retailers and service providers. There were 12 Farmers Associations with 6,273 members and 3 Farmers Service Cooperatives. Rayitu has 52 kilometers of dry-weather road, for an average road density of 0.28 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 7% of the total population has access to

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 33,169, of whom 16,876 were men and 16,293 were women; 3,204 or 9.66% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants 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 ...

, with 98.47% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 1.2% of the population practised

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 ...

. Based on figures 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 ...

in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 43,222, of whom 20,788 were males and 22,434 were females; 2,409 or 5.57% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 13.5%. With an estimated area of 7,055.22 square kilometers, Raytu has an estimated population density of 6.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 27. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 31,056, of whom 16,182 were men and 14,874 women; 1,343 or 4.32% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Raytu 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 ...

(91.25%), and the Somali (8.47%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.28% of the population.

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 ...

was spoken as a first language by 89.34%, and 10.35% spoke Somali; the remaining 0.31% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were

, with 99.56% of the population reporting they practiced that belief.''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).

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Districts of Oromia