Decha 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 Decha 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 ...
, which had the approximately same boundaries. 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 ...
, Decha is bordered on the south by the
Omo River
The Omo River (also called Omo-Bottego) in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The ...
which separates it from the
Debub Omo Zone
South Omo Zone (or Debub Omo Zone) is a List of zones of Ethiopia, zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). Debub Omo is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the southwest by the South Sudan, on the west by ...
, on the west 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 northwest by
Chena, on the north by
Ginbo, on the northeast by
Menjiwo, on the west by
Telo
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamils, Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th ...
and
Cheta, and on the southeast by the
Denchya River The Denchya River is a river of southern Ethiopia. It is a south-flowing tributary of the Omo River, entering it on the right bank at .
See also
*List of rivers of Ethiopia
This is a list of streams and rivers in Ethiopia, arranged geographical ...
which separates it from the
Konta special district. The major town in Decha is
Chiri.
According to a 2004 report, Decha had 47 kilometers of all-weather roads and 5 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 18 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. The southern tip of Decha is included in the territory of the
Omo National Park
Omo National Park is a national park in Ethiopia founded in 1980. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on the west bank of the Omo River, the park covers approximately 4,068 square kilometers, about 870 kilometers so ...
.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this district has a total population of 128,887, of whom 64,438 are men and 64,449 women; 5,460 or 4.24% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants 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 ...
, with 63.9% of the population reporting that belief, 15.75% 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 ...
, 14.3% practiced traditional beliefs, 3.51% 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 ...
, and 2.18% 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 ...
.
In the 1994 national census Decha had a population of 74,792, of whom 36,964 were men and 37,828 women; 1,655 or 2.21% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in this district were the
Kafficho (78.23%), the
Bench (7.69%), the
Chara (5.57%), the
Nao (5.13%), and the
Me'en (1.81%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.57% of the population.
Kafa was spoken as a first language by 78.67% of the inhabitants, 8.15% spoke
Bench, 5.5%
Chara, 4.62%
Nayi, and 1.24% spoke
Me'en; the remaining 1.82% 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 ...
, 15.88% of the population were considered literate; 9.91% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 2.36% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; and 0.73% 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 11.24% of the urban houses and 60.05% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census, while about 9.83% of the urban and 73.45% 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 South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region
Districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region