Borena ( Oromo: ''Boorana'') is a

zone Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

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 Benis ...

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 ...

. Borena is named after one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo People. Borena is bordered on the south by

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, on the west by the

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a regional state in southwestern ...

, on the north by West Guji and Guji and on the east by Dawa Zone

Somali Region The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...

. The highest point in this zone is

Mount Dara Tiniro Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

. Cities and major towns in this Zone include

Negele Borana : Negele Borana or Neghelle, is a town and separate woreda in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Guji Zone of the Oromia Region on the road connecting Addis Ababa to Dolo Odo, it is the largest town in the Guji Zone, traditionally inhabited by ...

Moyale Moyale is a market town on the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, and is the administrative centre for two Ethiopian woredas, Moyale of Oromia Region and Moyale of Somali Region. Moyale is the main border post on the Nairobi-Addis Ababa road, ...

Yabelo Yabelo ( om, Yaabeelloo) is a town in southern Ethiopia. An alternative name for this town is Obda, which is also the name of a nearby mountain.Dubuluk,

Mega Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy * Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...

, Millami, Surupa and Bakke.

History

The Borena Zone was created shortly after the adoption of the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia and the creation of the Oromia Region. In September 2003, the upland woredas were separated from Borena to create the Guji Zone. Since then many of the remaining woredas have been reorganized to create new ones. This Zone was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2004 as one of several areas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas; no specific woredas were identified in this program. Borena became the new home for a total of 9145 heads of households and 45,725 total family members. Drought conditions in Borana in 2006 have increased tensions between the Borana and Guji clans from 22 May, and spiraled into violence a week later. Clan elders were able to restore peace, but only after 10 days of fighting in which between 100 and 150 people were killed and left thousands displaced.

Borena National Park Borana National Park (also known as Borena National Park) is a national park in southern Ethiopia. The national park was established in 2017 and is one of Ethiopia's largest protected areas.Nigatu, Tesfaye. (2016). POTENTIALITY ASSESSMENT FOR EC ...

covers much of Borena Zone. The park was created in 2017 from the former Borena Controlled Hunting Area.

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 growt ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 962,489, of whom 487,024 are men and 475,465 women; with an area of 45,434.97 square kilometers, Borena has a population density of 21.18. A total of 182,258 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 5.28 persons to a household, and 174,474 housing units. The three largest ethnic groups reported were the Oromo (88.78%), the Gedeo (4.42%) and the Burji (3.17%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.63% of the population. Oromo was spoken as a first language by 90.94%, Gedeo was spoken by 4.06% and Konso by 2.72%; the remaining 2.28% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, with 47.25% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 35.01% of the population practiced traditional beliefs, 9.62% 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 5.45% professed

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity 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 Chri ...

. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,398,543 in 275,072 households, of whom 711,344 were men and 687,199 women; 127,469 or 9.11% of its population were urban dwellers at the time.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.12, 2.15, 2.17 (accessed 6 April 2009). (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 10 rural

kebele A ward ( am, ቀበሌ; om, Araddaa; ) is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia: a ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a district, itself usually part of a zone, which in turn are grouped into ...

s and parts of two urban ones, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 31,670 inhabitants, of whom 16,465 were men and 15,205 were women.) The four largest ethnic groups reported in Borena were the Oromo (76.56%), the Gedeo (12.87%), the Amhara (3.28%), and the Somali (3.21%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.08% of the population.

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 ...

was spoken as a first language by 77.08%, 12.59% Gedeo, 5.05% spoke Amharic, and 3.22% spoke Somali; the remaining 2.06% spoke all other primary languages reported. The plurality of the inhabitants were

, with 32.17% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 27.01% held traditional beliefs, 14.21% were

, 11.28% professed

, and 1.15% 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 ...

. According to a May 24, 2004

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

memorandum, 4% of the inhabitants of Borena have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 27.5 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers (compared to the national average of 30 kilometers), the average rural household has 0.5 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 1.14 for the Oromia Region) and the equivalent of 0.6 heads of livestock. 14.4% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 24%. 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 ...

, 53% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 9% in secondary schools. Concerning

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, 35% of the zone is exposed to

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, 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, Glos ...

. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 410.

Economy

The CSA reported that 13,533 tons of coffee were produced in this zone in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 11.8% of the Region's output and 6.0% of Ethiopia's total output. Borena is home to three of the major mines of Ethiopia: the gold mine at Kebri Mangest, and the

Lega Dembi The Lega Dembi Mine is the largest gold mine in Ethiopia. It is near Shakiso in Oromia. Lega Dembi has a yearly production of around 4,500 kg of gold and silver, and is owned by MIDROC. Pollution from the mine has resulted in environmental co ...

gold and the Kenticha

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that ...

mines near

Shakiso Shakiso is a town in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Located in the Guji Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1758 meters above sea level. Two of the major mines of Ethiopia are located near Shakiso ...

. An agreement was signed in early December 1997 between the Ethiopian government and the private company JCI Ethiopia for the exploration of gold, base and associated minerals in Borena. The exclusive exploration rights would cover the next three years while the company’s estimated spending during this period will be 10 million dollars."Monthly Situation Report for Ethiopia, December 1997"
UNDP-EUE (accessed 20 January 2009)

Notes

{{Authority control Oromia Region Zones of Ethiopia