Robe is one of the
Aanaa
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
s in the
Oromia Regional State
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 ...
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 ...
. It is named after the Robe River, 80 kilometers of which flows through the woreda. Part of the
Arsi Zone
Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area.
Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...
, Robe is bordered on the south by the
Shebelle River
The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the Ethiopian Highlands, highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where ...
which separates it from the
Bale Zone
(Oromo language, Oromo: Aaana ''Baalee'') is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
Bale is bordered on the south by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Guji Zone, on the west by the West Arsi Zone, on the north by Ar ...
, on the southwest by
Sherka
Sherka is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Research by Ulrich Braukämper uncovered a local tradition that traced the origins of this woreda's name to an ancient Ethiopian province, Sharkha, which vanished as a politica ...
, on the west by
Tena
TENA is a Sweden, Swedish-based brand of Essity that specializes in products for adults with urinary incontinence, urinary or fecal incontinence, such as pads and diapers. TENA also produces a youth diaper brand for teenagers and larger childre ...
, on the north by
Sude, on the northeast by
Amigna
Aminya is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Amigna is bordered on the south by Seru, on the southwest by Robe, on the west by Sude, on the northwest by Chole, on the north by Gololcha, and on the east by ...
, and on the east by
Seru. The administrative center of the woreda is
Robe
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...
; other towns in Robe include Habe and
Sedika
Sedika is a small town located in the Arsi Zone of Oromia Regional State, it is one of two towns in Robe District. It is named after the clan of the Arsi Oromo who lived there. It is the town center for many local divisions surrounding it. Sedik ...
.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1200 to 4000 meters above sea level. Rivers include 45 kilometers of the Hulull and 40 kilometers of the
Wabe; the gorge of the Wabe is a local landmark. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 51.1% is arable or cultivable, 4.9% pasture, 16.3% forest, and the remaining 27.7% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Oil seeds, specifically
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
,
and
rape seed
Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...
, are important cash crops; Robe is one of the major producers of oil seeds in the Zone.
[''Socio-economic profile of Arsi Zone'']
Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).
Industry in the woreda includes 38 small-scale industries employing 93 persons, which include 38
grain mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
s. Other commercial activity consists of 1160 registered businesses of which 32.8% are wholesalers, 42.2% retailers and 19% service providers. There were 28 Farmers Associations with 15,116 members and 10 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 14,471 members. Robe has 75 kilometers of feeder roads, 36 kilometers of dry-weather and 44 of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 117 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers; 54 kilometers of rural road are under construction. About 19.5% of the total population has access to
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
; a water supply project is under construction.
[
]
Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 165,210, of whom 83,129 were men and 82,081 were women; 20,680 or 12.52% 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 61.78% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 37.77% of the population practised 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 ...
.
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 168,043, of whom 84,551 were males and 83,492 were females; 22,947 or 13.66% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,322.50 square kilometers, Robe has an estimated population density of 127.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 132.2.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 118,457, of whom 59,067 were men and 59,390 women; 12,847 or 10.85% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Robe were the Oromo (86.11%), the Amhara (11.25%), and the Soddo
Soddo (autonym ''kəstane'' "Christian"; formerly called ''Aymälläl'' in Western sources, after a particular dialect of it) is a Gurage language spoken by a quarter million people in southeastern Ethiopia. It is an Ethiopian Semitic language o ...
Gurage people
The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in ce ...
(1.39%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.25% 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 84.15%, and 15.22% 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 ...
; the remaining 0.63% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants 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 59.23% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 40.41% of the population said they 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 Chris ...
.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
Tables 2.1, 2.13, 2.16, 2.20 (accessed 6 April 2009).
Notes
{{Districts of the Oromia Region
Districts of Oromia Region