Benishangul-Gumuz, (Amharic:ቤንሻንጉል-ጉምዝ) also known as
Benshangul/Gumaz, is one of the nine
ethnic divisionsEthiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions and three chartered cities...
(
kililoch) of
EthiopiaEthiopia is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. Officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, it is the second-most populous nation in Africa with over 79.2 million people and the tenth-largest by area with its 1,100,000 km
2. The capital is Addis...
. Previously known as
Region 6, the region's capital is
AsosaAsosa is a town in western Ethiopia and the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Asosa Zone, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 1570 meters....
. Following the adoption of the
1995 constitutionThe current Constitution of Ethiopia was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in December 1994 and came into force in August 1995. The constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government and an administration based on nine ethnic-based regions...
, the Region was created from the westernmost portion of the
GojjamGojjam was a province in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This province is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudanese border.Gojjam's earliest western boundary was undefined...
province (the part north of the Abay River), and the northwestern portion of the
Welega ProvinceWelega was a province in the western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Welega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries....
(the part south of the Abay).
Due to its lack of transportation and communications infrastructure, this region faces major challenges to economic development. The Abay divides Benishangul-Gumuz, and there is no bridge crossing this major river in the region. To travel between the regional capital of Assosa and the capital of the
Metekel ZoneMetekel is one of the three Zones in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, named after the former Metekkel province. Metekel is bordered on the south by Kamashi, on the southwest by Asosa, on the west by Sudan, and on the north and east by the Amhara Region...
, one must pass through Walega and Gojjam in the neighboring regions of Oromia and
AmharaAmhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
, incurring a travel distance of 1,250 kilometers, versuses 180 had a bridge existed over the Abay. Conditions for travel within zones varies, but is often poor and subject to disruption by the rainy season. On 28 July 2009, the Regional Rural Roads Authority reported that over the previous year almost 600 of the 800 kilometers of local all-weather roads had been upgraded at a cost of 11.5 million
BirrThe birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well....
, and an additional 447 kilometers of roads constructed.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the
Central Statistical AgencyThe Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
of Ethiopia (CSA), the Benishangul-Gumuz Region has a total population of 670,847, consisting of 340,378 men and 330,469 women; urban inhabitants number 97,965 or 14.6% of the population. With an estimated area of 49,289.46 square kilometers, this Region has an estimated density of 13.6 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 985,654 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.5 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.6 and rural households 4.7 people. The ethnic groups include the
BertaThe Berta or Bertha are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors . Their total Ethiopian population is about 183,000 people....
(25.9%),
GumuzGumuz is an ethnic group living in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and the Qwara woreda of Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region of Sudan; they number about 200,000. In the past, they have been lumped with other peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the name of Shanqella...
(21.11%), Amhara (21.25%), Oromo (13.32%),
ShinashaThe Shinasha, also known as Bworo or Boro, are an ethnic group of Ethiopia. Their language belongs to the North Omotic family . They live north of the Blue Nile in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and number around 33,000 individuals. Their neighbors in the area include Gumuz and...
(7.59%) and Mao (1.9%). Concerning religion, 45.4% of the population were
MuslimAccording to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
. 33% were Orthodox Christians, 13.5% were
ProtestantP'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
, and 7.1% practiced traditional beliefs.
In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the Region's population was reported to be 460,459 of which 233,013 were men and 227,446 were women. Rural population was 424,432, while the urban population was 36,027. The five largest ethnic groups in Benishangul-Gumuz were the Berta (27%),
GumuzGumuz is an ethnic group living in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and the Qwara woreda of Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region of Sudan; they number about 200,000. In the past, they have been lumped with other peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the name of Shanqella...
(23%), Amhara (22%), Oromo (13%) and Shinasha (7%).
BertaThe Berta language is spoken by the Berta in Sudan and Ethiopia. It is a language isolate which has been also included as branch of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. It has the typical word order Subject Verb Object. It is a tonal language. It has significantly influenced some of the...
is spoken in the
SherkoleSherkole is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Asosa Zone, Sherkole is bordered by Menge on the south, Kormuk on the southwest, by Sudan on the northwest, by the Abay River on the northeast which separates it from the Metekel Zone, and the Dabus River on...
woreda,
GumuzGumuz is an ethnic group living in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and the Qwara woreda of Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region of Sudan; they number about 200,000. In the past, they have been lumped with other peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the name of Shanqella...
is spoken along the western boundary of
GubaGuba may refer to:* Belushya Guba, a settlement in Arkhangelsk, Russia* Cyclone Guba, a tropical cyclone in Australasia, 2007* Guba , a woreda in Ethiopia* Guba Koricha a woreda in Ethiopia* Guba Lafto a woreda in Ethiopia...
and
DangurDangur is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the Dangur range of mountains, which extend southwest from the mountains along the west side of Lake Tana...
woredas and in the
Sirba AbbaySirba Abbay is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Kamashi Zone, Sirba Abbay is bordered by the Oromia Region on the southwest, by Oda Godere on the west, by the Dabus River on the northwest which separates it from the Asosa Zone, by the Abay River on the...
woreda, and the
ShinashaThe Shinasha, also known as Bworo or Boro, are an ethnic group of Ethiopia. Their language belongs to the North Omotic family . They live north of the Blue Nile in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and number around 33,000 individuals. Their neighbors in the area include Gumuz and...
are a displaced people of
KaffaKaffa is the name of several geographical entities:*Crimean city of Kaffa or Caffa is currently known as Theodosia ;*The Kingdom of Kaffa in Ethiopia;*hence former Ethiopian province of Kaffa*The Kaffa people of Ethiopia....
scattered across Welega and
GojjamGojjam was a province in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This province is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudanese border.Gojjam's earliest western boundary was undefined...
. The Berta, Gumuz and Shinasha tend to have more in common with the people of neighbouring
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa, and the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
than with other Ethiopian peoples, while the Amhara and
TigrayansTigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. A few also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions ...
, who are known as
Habesha (or "highlanders") are recent arrivals, who began to settle in the region during the
DergThe Derg or Dergue was a communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I...
era. According to the 1994 census 44.1% of inhabitants were Muslim, 34.8% Orthodox Christians, 13.1% followers of traditional religions and 5.8% Protestants.
According to the CSA, , 27.23% of the total population had access to
safe drinking waterAccess to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is one of the lowest in the world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people without access to water and...
, of whom 22.35% were rural inhabitants and 58.53% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the
standard of livingStandard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
for Benishangul-Gumuz include the following: 19.1% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 47.4% and for women 23.2%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 84 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.
Agriculture
The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Benishangul-Gumuz had a total of 307,820 head of cattle (representing 0.79% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 65,800 sheep (0.38%), 244,570 goats (1.88%), 1,770 mules (1.2%), 37,520 asses (1.5%), 732,270 poultry of all species (2.37%), and 166,130 beehives (3.82%).
Over 60% of this Region is covered with forest, including
bambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
,
eucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia...
and rubber trees, incense and gum forests as well as the indengenous species. However, due to increased population which has led to the widespread destruction of the canopy, authorities announced a campaign on 8 June 2007 to plant 1.5 million seedlings over the next two months to replenish this resource.
Presidents of the Executive Committee
- Attom Mustapha (after 1991)
- Abdu Mohammad Ali 1990s
- Ateyb Ahmed 1990s - 1995
- Yaregal Aysheshum (B-GPDUF) July 1995 - November 2008
- Ahmed Nasir Ahmed (B-GPDUF) November 2008 - present
(This list is based on information from
Worldstatesmen.org, John Young, and the
Ethiopian News AgencyThe Ethiopian News Agency is the official news agency of the Government of Ethiopia. It is the oldest news organization in Ethiopia...
website)
External links