The Eastern Zone () 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, ...

in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...

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 ...

. It is bordered on the east by the

Afar Region The Afar Region (; aa, Qafar Rakaakayak; am, አፋር ክልል), formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the pave ...

, on the south by the South Eastern Zone, on the west by the

Central Zone The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language varieties Spoken across North India and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, itself a part of the ...

and on the north by Eritrea. Its highest point is Mount Asimba (3,250 m). Towns and cities in the Eastern Zone include

Adigrat Adigrat (, ''ʿaddigrat'', also called ʿAddi Grat) is a city and separate woreda in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude , with an elevation of above sea level and below a high ridge to the we ...

Atsbi Atsbi ( Ge'ez: ኣጽቢ) (officially known as Atsbi Endaselase Ge'ez: ኣጽቢ እንዳስላሴ ) is a town in Tigray, Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, about 50 kilometers northeast of Qwiha, this town ...

Hawzen Hawzen ( Ge'ez: ሓውዜን) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil''), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market da ...

, and

Wukro Wukro ( Tigrigna: ውቕሮ) (also known as Wukro Kilte Awulaelo; Tigrigna: ውቕሮ ክልተ ኣውላዕሎ) (also transliterated Wuqro; is a town and separate woreda in Tigray, Ethiopia. Wukro is located along Genfel River, in the Misra ...

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 755,343, of whom 359,638 are men and 395,705 women; 146,064 or 19.34% are urban inhabitants. Two largest ethnic groups reported in the Eastern Zone were the Tigray (95.32%) and Irob (3.78%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.9% of the population.

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...

is spoken as a first language by 95.36% and

Saho language The Saho language ( Tigrinya: ሳሆኛ/ቋንቋ ሳሆ) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Cushitic branch. Overview Saho is spoken natively by the Saho people. Traditionally, they inh ...

by 3.67%; the remaining 0.97% spoke all other primary languages reported. 95.73% of the population said they were

Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

, 2.4% 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 1.79% were Catholics. In the 1994 Census, zone's population was 584,946, of whom 280,679 were males and 304,267 females; 85,508 or 14.6% of its population were urban dwellers. The Zone is predominantly Tigrayan, at 94.9% of the population, while 3.6% were Saho 0.9% were Afar, 0.3% Eritrean, and all other ethnic groups 0.2%. 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 Inte ...

memorandum, 9% of the inhabitants of the zone have access to electricity, and has a road density of 88.2 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 0.5 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and a regional average of 0.51) and the equivalent of 0.7 heads of livestock. 38.9% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a regional average of 28%. 91% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 35% in secondary schools. It is not known how much 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 ...

, but none is exposed to the

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 573.World Bank, ''Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization''
(accessed 23 March 2006).

References

{{Districts of the Tigray Region Tigray Region Zones of Ethiopia