Adama ( Oromo: ' or ',

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: አዳማ), formerly Nazreth ( am, ናዝሬት), is a city in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.

Overview

Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects Addis Ababa with

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...

. A large number of trucks use this same route to travel to and from the seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway runs through Adama. Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) (formerly Nazareth Technique College) is located in Adama. Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.

History

The city name Adama may have been derived from the Oromo word ', which means a cactus or a cactus-like tree. More specifically, ' means '' Euphorbia candelabrum'', a tree of the spurge family, while ' would mean Indian fig. Following World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie renamed the town after Biblical Nazareth, and this name was used for the remainder of the twentieth century. In 2000, the city officially reverted to its original Oromo name, Adama, though Nazareth is still widely used. In 2000, the government moved the regional capital of Oromia from Addis Ababa to Adama, sparking considerable controversy. Critics of the move believed that the Ethiopian government wished to deemphasize Addis Ababa's location within Oromia. On the other hand, the government maintained that Addis Ababa "has been found inconvenient from the point of view of developing the language, culture and history of the Oromo people". On 10 June 2005, the

Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization The Oromo Democratic Party ( om, Paartii Demokraatawaa Oromoo, ODP) was a political party in Ethiopia, and part of the alliance with the Amhara National Democratic Movement, the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front and the Tigrayan Peoples ...

(OPDO), part of the ruling EPRDF coalition, officially announced plans to move the regional capital back to Addis Ababa.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) 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 ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this city has a total population of 220,212, an increase of 72.25% over the population recorded in the 1994 census, of whom 108,872 are men and 111,340 women. With an area of 29.86 square kilometers, Adama has a population density of 7,374.82; all are urban inhabitants. A total of 60,174 households were counted in this city, which results in an average of 3.66 persons to a household, and 59,431 housing units. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Adama were the Oromo (39.02%), the Amhara (34.53%), the Gurage (11.98%) and the Silte (5.02%); all other ethnic groups made up 9.45% of the population.

was spoken as a first language by 59.25%, 26.25% spoke Oromo and 6.28% spoke Guragiegna; the remaining 8.22% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 63.62% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 24.7% of the population were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and 10.57% were Protestant. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 127,842 of whom 61,965 were males and 65,877 were females.

Transport

Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects Addis Ababa with

Education

The Adama University was founded in 1993.

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

churches and temples (

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, Protestant: Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Evangelical Christian:

Kale Heywet Word of Life Church The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church ( "The Ethiopian Word of Life Church") is an evangelical denomination, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. History The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church was founded in 1927 in southern Ethiopia by the evangelical ...

Full Gospel Believers Church The Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church is a Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Christian denomination in Ethiopia. The headquarters is in Addis Ababa. History The Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church has its origins in a prayer conference held ...

, Catholic: Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Abeba). There are also

mosques.