Legehidha (also called Beltu Kurkurru) is one of the woredas in the Oromia of Ethiopia. Part of the Bale Zone, Legehidha is bordered on the south by

Seweyna Seweyna is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the eastern part of the Bale Zone, Seweyna is bordered on the south by Raytu, on the southwest by Ginir, on the northwest by Gaserana Gololcha, on the north by Legehida, an ...

, on the southwest by

Gololcha Gololcha is one of the Aanaas in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Gololcha is bordered on the south by Aminya, on the west by Chole, on the northwest by Aseko, and on the north and east by the West Hararghe Zone. Th ...

, and all other sides by the Shebelle River which separates this woreda from the West Hararghe Zone on the northwest, the East Hararghe Zone on the northeast and from the Somali Region on the east. The administrative center of the woreda is Beltu; other towns in Legehidha nearly Sheikh Hussein.

Overview

Mount Goden is the highest point in this woreda; other major peaks include Mounts Gerecha and Keban. Perennial rivers include the Tare and Harkiso-Fik. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 16.5% is arable or cultivable (4.24% was in annual crops), 50% pasture, 28.3% forest, and the remaining 5.2% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Wheat, teff and

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

are important crops.''Socio-economic profile of the Bale Zone''
Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006). Although coffee is an important cash crop, less than 2,000 hectares are planted with it. No licensed industry exists in this woreda, although there five retailers and one service provider. There were 17 Farmers Associations with 6149 members and no Farmers Service Cooperatives. Legehida has no roads, leaving Beltu 65 kilometers from the nearest all-weather road; the ''Socio-Economic profile'' for the Bale Zone describes Legehida as "one of the remotest districts in the Zone". About 4.7% of the total population has access to drinking water.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 62,521, of whom 31,286 were men and 31,235 were women; 2,016 or 3.23% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they 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 ...

, with 99.22% of the population reporting they observed this belief. Based on figures published 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 ...

in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 52,568, of whom 26,414 were males and 26,154 were females; 1,225 or 2.33% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 13.5%. With an estimated area of 5,799.69 square kilometers, Legehida has an estimated population density of 9.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 27. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 38,052, of whom 19,031 were men and 19,021 women; 683 or 1.79% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The largest ethnic group reported in Legehida was the Oromo (99.5%);

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 96.95%, while the remaining 3.05% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were

, with 99.89% of the population having reported they practiced that belief.''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).

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Districts of Oromia Region