The Southern Zone () 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

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

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 ...

. The Southern Zone is bordered on the south and west by 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 ...

, on the north by the

Central Zone Central Zone may refer to: Places * Central Indo-Aryan languages, or the "Central Zone" of Indo-Aryan, a language group of India * Central Zone, Bhutan, an administrative district of Bhutan * Central Zone of São Paulo, an administrative zone of th ...

, 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� ...

. Towns and cities in the Southern Zone include Maychew,

Korem Korem ( Tigrinya: ኮረም) (alternative forms include Ofla, Kworem, Quoram) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray, Ethiopia. Located on the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands in the Southern Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a lat ...

, Zata and

Alamata Alamata ( Tigrinya: ኣላማጣ ) is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi (Southern) zone of Tigray it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of above sea level and is located along Ethiopian Highway 2. ...

. The South Eastern Zone was separated from the Southern Zone. The highest point in this Zone is Mount Ferrah Amba (3954 meters; sometimes called Tsibet after the nearby village), one of the southernmost peaks of the Raya Mountains. Due to its prominent location dominating the roadway that runs past it from

Mekelle Mekelle (), or Mek'ele, is a List of zones of Ethiopia, special zone and capital city, capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta province, Enderta Awrajja, awraja in Tigray Province, Tigray. It is locate ...

south to Maychew, this mountain has been the scene of several battles. Important bodies of water include Lake Hashenge.

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 1,006,504, of whom 497,280 are men and 509,224 women; 125,787 or 12.5% are urban inhabitants. Two largest ethnic groups reported in the Southern Zone were

Tigrayan The Tigrayan people (, ''Təgaru'') are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch. The daily life ...

(95.36%) and Amhara (2.7%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.94% of the population. Tigrinya is spoken as a first language by 92.49%,

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 ...

by 5.58% and Xamtanga by 1.01%; the remaining 0.92% spoke all other primary languages reported. 92.15% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians, and 7.79% 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 ...

. Based on figures from the

in 2005, this zone has an estimated total population of 1,239,988, of whom 610,164 are men and 629,824 are women; 361,252 or 29.1% of its population are urban dwellers. With an estimated area of 9,310.96 square kilometers, the Southern Zone has an estimated population density of 133.18 people per square kilometer. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 873,509 people in 210,858 households, of whom 425,655 were men and 447,854 women; 207,352 or 23.7% of its population were urban dwellers. The Zone is predominantly Tigrayan, at 92.1% of the population, while 5.4% were Amhara, 1.5% were

Agaw The Agaw or Agew (, modern ''Agew'') are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, also known as the Central Cushitic languages, which belong to the Cushitic bran ...

, and all other ethnic groups 1.0%. Tigrinya is spoken by 91.7% of the population, and

was a first language by 6.3% and as a second language by 11.5%. 92.2% of the population said they observed

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 ...

while 7.6% were

. 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, 15% of the inhabitants of the Southern Zone have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 80.2 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 0.8 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and a regional average of 0.51) and the equivalent of 0.9 heads of livestock. 34.5% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a regional average of 28%. 64% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 24% in secondary schools. 36% 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 none 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 627.World Bank, ''Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization''
(accessed 23 March 2006).

References

{{Districts of the Tigray Region Tigray Region Zones of Ethiopia