Hawassa Zuria is a

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

Sidama Region The Sidama Region (Sidama: Sidaamu Qoqqowo; ) is a regional state in southern Ethiopia. It was formed on 18 June 2020 from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and transformation of the Sidama Zone after a 98.52% vote ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Located in the Great Rift Valley, Hawassa Zuria is bordered on the south by

Shebedino Shebedino is a woreda in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Sidama Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Shebedino is bordered on the south by Dale, on the west by Boricha, on the north by Awasa Zuria, o ...

and

Boricha Barley tea is a roasted-grain-based infusion made from barley. It is a staple across many East Asian countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. It has a toasty, bitter flavor. In Korea, the tea is consumed either hot or cold, often tak ...

, on the west and north by the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

, and on the east by Wondo Genet. Town of

Hawassa Hawassa ( am, አዋሳ; ʾäwasa, also spelled Awassa or Awasa) known historically as Adare is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Awassa in the Great Rift Valley. It is south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, east of Sodo, and north of ...

and woredas of Wondo Genet and

Malga Malga is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. Part of the Sidama Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Malga is bordered on the south by Gorche on the southwest by Shebedino, on the w ...

were separated from former Awasa woreda. The rest of this woreda was renamed for Hawassa Zuria (Greater Awasa). This woreda almost surrounds Lake Awasa on all sides. Another water feature is Lake Chelaka which has vanished into the neighboring wetlands due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. The forest cover in the area partly covered by this woreda has decreased from 48,924 hectares (or 16%) in 1972 to an estimated 8600 (or 2.8%) in 2000, all caused by the creation of farmland, part of a process that has been underway for the last few hundred years.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 124,472, of whom 62,774 are men and 61,698 women; none of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, with 85.82% of the population reporting that belief, 6.67% 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 5.61% were

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In the 1994 Census this woreda had a population of 345,526, of whom 176,406 were men and 169,120 women; 72,366 or 20.94% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in Hawassa were the Sidama (67.47%), the Oromo (10.17%), the Amhara (8.86%), the Welayta (6.91%), and the Kambaata (2.03%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.56% of the population. Sidaamu Afoo is spoken as a first language by 69.74% of the inhabitants, 15.67% speak

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 ...

, 6.48%

Oromiffa Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language The Afroasiatic languag ...

, 4.56% Welayta, and the Kambaata (1.41%); the remaining 2.14% spoke all other primary languages reported. 59.22% of the population said they were

, 18.01% were Ethiopian Orthodox, 9.7% were

, 5.66% observed traditional religions, and 5.16% embraced

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Concerning

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, 34.96% of the population were considered literate; statistics on school attendance in this woreda are missing. Concerning

sanitary conditions Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

, about 96.16% of the urban houses and 42.33% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census, while about 88.12% of the urban and 24.16% of the total had toilet facilities.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.19, 3.5, 3.7, 6.3, 6.11, 6.13 (accessed 30 December 2008)

Notes

{{Districts of the Sidama Region Districts of Ethiopia Sidama Region