Chena is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the South West Region of

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 ...

. The name Chena comes from one of the provinces in the former

Kingdom of Kaffa The Kingdom of Kaffa was a kingdom located in what is now Ethiopia from 1390 to 1897, with its first capital at Bonga. The Gojeb River formed its northern border, beyond which lay the Gibe kingdoms; to the east the territory of the Konta and Kul ...

, whose administrative center had been at Wacha. Part of the

Keffa Zone Keffa or Kaffa, is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The administrative center is Bonga. History The Zone is named after the Kingdom of Kaffa. Kaffa was part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) until ...

, Chena is bordered on the south by the

Bench Maji Zone Bench Sheko (previously known as Bench Maji) is a zone in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Bench Sheko is bordered on the south and southeast by West Omo, on the west by the Gambela Region on the north by Sheka, and on the e ...

, on the west by

Bita Bita may refer to : ;Places and jurisdictions * Bita (Africa), an Ancient city, former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in Roman North Africa * an Archaic name for the Latin Catholic titular see of Bida (North Africa) * Bita, a Romanian vi ...

, on the north by

Gewata Gewata is a district in the South West Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Keffa Zone, Gewata is bordered on the south by Chena, on the west by Gesha, on the northwest by Sayilem, on the northeast by the Oromia Region, and on the southeast by Ginbo. ...

, on the northeast by

Ginbo Ginbo (also spelled Gimbo) is a district in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The name Ginbo comes from one of the provinces in the former Kingdom of Kaffa. That province, as well as the Kafficho provinces Bonga and Manjo, became districts with t ...

, and on the east by

Decha Decha is a district in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The name Decha comes from one of the provinces in the former Kingdom of Kaffa, which had the approximately same boundaries. Part of the Keffa Zone, Decha is bordered on the south by the Omo ...

. Towns in Chena include Shishinda. Western kebeles of Chena were used to form Bita district.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this district has a total population of 158,449, of whom 78,150 are men and 80,299 women; 11,629 or 7.34% 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 43.62% of the population reporting that belief, 40.84% practiced

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 Chris ...

, 7.95% practiced traditional beliefs, 3.9% 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 3.09% 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 ...

. In the 1994 national census Chena had a population of 153,646, of whom 75,745 were men and 77,901 women; 12,887 or 8.39% of its population were urban dwellers. The four largest ethnic groups reported in this district were the Kafficho (75.76%), the Bench (16.19%), the Oromo (3.5%), and the Amhara (2.73%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.82% of the population. Kafa was spoken as a first language by 75.43% of the inhabitants, 18.36% spoke Bench, 3.6% spoke

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 ...

, and 3.09% spoke

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 ...

; the remaining 5.6% spoke all other primary languages reported. 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 ...

, 16.97% of the population were considered literate; 12.45% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 2.77% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school, and 2.13% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. 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 69% of the urban and 12% of the total had toilet facilities.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region'', Vol. 1, part 2
, Tables 6.3, 6.13 (accessed 17 April 2009)

Notes

{{Authority control Districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region