Semien Shewa Zone (Amhara)
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North Shewa () is a zone in the
Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...
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 ...
. North Shewa takes its name from the kingdom and former
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...
. The Zone is bordered on the south and 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 South Wollo, on the northeast by the
Oromia Zone The Oromia Zone (; Amharic: ኦሮሚያ ዞን) is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Oromia is named for the Oromo people, who settled along the edge of the Ethiopian Highlands that form this Zone. Oromia Zone is bordered on the southwest by ...
, and on the east by the
Afar Region The Afar Region (; ; ), formerly known as Region 2, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash, Ethiopia, Awash ...
. The highest point in the Zone is Mount Abuye Meda (4012 meters), which is found in the Gish
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 ...
; other prominent peaks include Mount Megezez. Towns in North Shewa include
Ankober Ankober (), formerly known as Ankobar, is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone (Amhara), North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, it's perched on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands at an elevation of about . ...
,
Debre Birhan Debre Birhan () is a city in central Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, about 120 kilometers north east of Addis Ababa on Ethiopian highway 2, the town has an elevation of 2,840 meters, which makes it the highest t ...
, and
Shewa Robit Shewa Robit (Amharic: ሸዋ ሮቢት)also known as Robi, Shah Robit, Shoa Robit or Robit is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation of 1 ...
. The administrative subdivisions of this Zone have been renamed, divided, and their boundaries were redrawn numerous times between the 1994 and 2007 national censuses far more often than any other Zone in the Amhara Region. As a result, its subdivisions can be very confusing; Svein Ege, in his comparison of how 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) and the Ethiopian Mapping Authority reported the administrative boundaries in this Zone and how they changed between 1994 and 2004, stopped halfway through this Zone, stating that he had run out of time to perform field checking.


History

Northern Shewa the Amhara zone is the zone where the former kingdom, province currently zones of Shewa all started. The zone is also the launching pad for the expansion and annexation of the rest of southern Ethiopia. For example, R.H.Kofi Darkwah writes that "like his father before him, the major conquests of Sahla Selassie were made in the south and south west." Sahla Selassie is the grandfather of
Menelik II Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...
. (Shewa Menilek and the Ethiopian Empire(1813-1889) page 26.).


Demographics

Based on the 2007 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 1,837,490, an increase of 17.72% over the 1994 census, of whom 928,694 are men and 908,796 women. With an area of 15,936.13 square kilometers, North Shewa has a population density of 115.30. While 214,227 or 11.66% are urban inhabitants, a further 112 or 0.01% are pastoralists. A total of 429,423 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.28 persons to a household, and 413,235 housing units. The three largest ethnic groups reported in North Shewa were the Amhara (90.73%), the Oromo (7.14%), and the Argobba (1.71%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.42% of the population.
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 ...
is spoken as a first language by 92.97%, and 6.32% spoke Oromiffa; the remaining 0.71% spoke all other primary languages reported. 94.71% of the population said they 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 4.91% 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 zone had an estimated population of 3,550,000 in 2020. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,560,916 in 340,413 households, of whom 784,207 were men and 776,709 women; 146,952 or 9.41% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in North Shewa were the Amhara (93.87%), the Oromo (4.27%), and the Argobba (1.73%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.13% of the population.
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 ...
was spoken as a first language by 95.44%, and 4.38% spoke Oromiffa; the remaining 0.18% spoke all other primary languages reported. 94.56% 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 5.26% 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 ...
. 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, 4% of the inhabitants of North Shewa have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 41.4 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers (compared to the national average of 30 kilometers), the average rural household has 1.2 hectares of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 0.75 for the Amhara Region) and the equivalent of 0.9 heads of livestock. 15.7% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 21%. 48% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 12% in secondary schools. 39% 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 14% 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 487.World Bank, ''Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization''
(accessed 23 March 2006).


Notes

{{Districts of the Amhara Region Amhara Region Zones of Ethiopia