Sheka is a

zone Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...

in the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State 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 ...

. Sheka is bordered on the south by Bench Maji, on the west by 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 Region 12, its capital and largest city is Gambela. It is bordered by the Oromia Region to t ...

, 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 ...

, and on the east by Keffa. The administrative center of Sheka is Tepi Sheka is the western part of former Keficho Shekicho Zone.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 199,314, of whom 101,059 are men and 98,255 women; 34,227 or 17.17% are urban inhabitants. The seven largest ethnic groups reported in this Zone were the (32.41%), the Amhara (22.17%), the Kafficho (20.16%), the Oromo (7.39%), the Bench (5.23%), the Sheko (4.24%), and the Majang (1.73%); all other ethnic groups made up 6.67% of the population. Shakacho is spoken as a first language by 33.44%, 26.98% speak

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 ...

, 20.15% Kafa, 6.54% speak Oromo, 5.24% Bench, and 4.35% Sheko; the remaining 3.3% spoke all other primary languages reported. 39.93% 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 ...

, 39.39% 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 ...

, 15.09% 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 3.51% practiced traditional beliefs.Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region
Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.

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 Sheka Zone include: * Anderacha * Masha * Masha (town) * Tepi (town) * Yeki Former woredas include: * Masha Anderacha

Notes

{{coord missing, Ethiopia Zones of Ethiopia South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region