The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a

regional state A regional state, or a regionalised unitary state, is a term used to denote a type of state that is formally unitary but where a high degree of political power has been highly decentralised to regional governments. This contrasts with a state org ...

in southwestern

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 was formed from the merger of five ''kililoch'', called Regions 7 to 11, following the regional council elections on 21 June 1992. Its government is based in

Hawassa Hawassa ( am, አዋሳ; ʾäwasa, also spelled Awassa or Awasa) known historically as Adare is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Awassa in the Great Rift Valley. It is south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, east of Sodo, and north of ...

. The SNNPR borders

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

to the south (including a small part of

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...

), the

Ilemi Triangle The Ilemi Triangle, sometimes called only Ilemi, is an area of disputed land in East Africa. Arbitrarily defined, it measures about . Named after Anuak chief Ilemi Akwon, the territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya. The territory also b ...

(a region claimed by Kenya and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

) to the southwest, the

South West Ethiopia Region The South West Region, officially the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region () is a regional state in southwestern Ethiopia. It was split off from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) on 23 November 2021 after a succes ...

to the west, the

Oromia Region 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 Benish ...

to the north and east, and the

Sidama Region The Sidama Region (Sidama: Sidaamu Qoqqowo; ) is a regional state in southern Ethiopia. It was formed on 18 June 2020 from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and transformation of the Sidama Zone after a 98.52% vote ...

to the east. The region's major cities and towns include

Arba Minch Arba Minch (formerly called Ganta Garo) is a city and separate woreda in the southern part of Ethiopia. "Arba Minch" means "40 Springs", originated from the presence of more than 40 springs. It is located in the Gamo Zone of the Southern Natio ...

Sodo Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation bet ...

Jinka Jinka is a market town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the hills north of the Tama Plains, this town is the capital of the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. Currently Jinka is the center of Jinka town ad ...

, Dila,

Boditi Boditi (Amharic: ቦዲቲ) is city in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Wolaita Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an average elevation of 2050 meters above sea level. I ...

, Areka,

Butajira Butajira ( am, ቡታጅራ) is a town and separate woreda in central Ethiopia. Located at the base of the Zebidar massif in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Butajira has an elevation of 2131 me ...

Welkite Welkite (also transliterated Wolkite) () is a town and separate woreda in south-western Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), this town has a latitude and longi ...

Bonga Bonga is a town, woreda and capital of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region in Ethiopia. Located in the Keffa Zone upon a hill in the upper Barta valley, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,714 meters above sea level. ...

Hosaena Hosaena (also spelled Hossana) is a town and separate woreda in southern Ethiopia, and the administrative center of the Hadiya Zone. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR), Hosaena has a latitude and longitu ...

and

Worabe Werabe (allegedly from the Silti word for " Hyena") is a town in south-central Ethiopia. Official sources locate this town in the Silte Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), although it is reported that at a ref ...

. The regional government of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region is based in the city of

. Following the formation of the

in June 2020,

is located outside of the boundaries of the region. The regional government is planning to move to a city within the region's boundaries after two consecutive national electoral cycles. The largest cities in the region are

with the population of 194,977 and

with the population of 151,013

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 growth ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), the SNNPR regional state had an estimated total population of 14,929,548, of whom 7,425,918 were men and 7,503,630 women. 13,433,991 or 89.98% of the population are estimated to be rural inhabitants, while 1,495,557 or 10.02% are urban; this makes the SNNPR Ethiopia's most rural region. With an estimated area of 105,887.18 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 141 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 3,110,995 households were counted, which results in an average for the region of 4.8 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.9 and rural households 4.9 people.Central Statistical Agency
''The 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Statistical Report for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region; Part I: Population Size and Characteristics''
July 2010. The projected population for 2017 was 19,170,007. In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 10,377,028 of whom 5,161,787 were men and 5,215,241 were women. At the time of the census, the rural population of the Region accounted for 93.2% of the total population. Semien Omo,

Wolayita Wolayta, Wolayita or Wolaita may refer to: * Wolayta people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia * Wolaytta language, spoken by the Welayta people * Wolayita Zone, a zone in SNNPR, Ethiopia * Kingdom of Welaytta, a Welaytta kingdom founded in medieval time ...

, and

Gurage 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 ...

were the three zones with the highest population. The population is concentrated mostly in eastern, northern and central part of the SNNPR while the western and southern part of the region is sparsely populated. The SNNPR Water Resources Bureau announced that as of the fiscal year ending in 2006, they had increased the area of the region that had access to

drinkable 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 ...

to 54% from 10 to 15% 15 years ago. In August 2008, the head of public relations for the Bureau, Abdulkerim Nesru, announced that 94 million birr had been spent to further increase the availability of drinkable water in the region from 58% in the previous year to 63.6%. Priority was given to certain zones, such as Sidama, Welayta and Gurage, as well as the Alaba special woreda and several resettlement areas. Values for other reported common indicators of the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

for the SNNPR include the following: 10.7% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 57% and for women 22.4%; and the Regional

infant mortality rate Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

is 85 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.

Religion

Ethnicities

The SNNPR, being an amalgam of the main homelands of numerous

ethnicities An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, contains over 45 indigenous

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. ;All ethnicities in region Hawassa Stadium

The ethnicities native to the SNNPR, with percentages of the population as reported in the 2007 national census and organized by linguistic grouping, include:

Languages

The 2007 census reported that the predominantly spoken mother tongue languages include

Sidama The Sidama ( am, ሲዳማ) are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Region, formerly part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. On 23 November 2019, the Sidama Zone became the 10th regional sta ...

(19.59%), Welayta (10.48%), Hadiya (8%),

Gurage languages The Gurage languages (Gurage: ጉራጌ), also known as Guragie, is a dialect-continuum language, which belong to the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by the Gurage people, who inhabit the Gurage Zone within t ...

(7.13%), Gamo (6.9%), Kafa (5.36%) and

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 ...

(4.10%). Other languages spoken in the State include Kambaata, Mello, Goffa, Gedeo and Dima; because of the relatively few number of speakers of most of the languages in the region, the working language of the state is Amharic (the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and formerly the only official language). The 1994 census reported that the predominantly spoken languages include Sidamigna (18%), Guragigna (14.72%), Welayta (11.53%), Hadiyigna (8.53%), Keffigna (5.22%), and Kembatigna (4.35%). Other languages spoken in the State include Gamoigna, Mello, Goffa, and Gedeo.

is still the working language although most pupils get eight years of primary education in their home language and all secondary and further education is in English.

Agriculture

The CSA reported that for 2004–2005 100,338 tons of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

were produced in the SNNPR, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 44.2% of the total production in Ethiopia. Farmers in the Region had an estimated total 7,938,490 head of cattle (representing 20.5% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 3,270,200 sheep (18.8%), 2,289,970 goats (17.6%), 298,720 horses (19.7%), 63,460 mules (43.1%), 278,440 asses (11.1%), 6,586,140 poultry of all species (21.3%), and 726,960 beehives (16.7%).

Enset ''Ensete ventricosum'', commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, pseudo-banana, false banana and wild banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of ...

is a major indigenous local crop in the SNNPR.

List of Chief Administrators

Abate Kisho State motorcyclists' rights organizations (SMROs) exist in about 32 US states, 25 of which call themselves "ABATE of (state name)," the rest going by various other names. SMROs advocate for the motorcycle rider and freedom on the road. In the mot ...

(

SEPDM The Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM) was a political party in Ethiopia. At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, that won 327 out of 527 s ...

), 1992–2001 *

Hailemariam Desalegn Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe ( amh, ኃይለማሪያም ደሳለኝ ቦሼ; born 19 July 1965) is an Ethiopian politician who served as prime minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. He also previously served as deputy prime minister and Minister ...

, 12 November 2001 – March 2006 *

Shiferaw Shigute Shiferaw Shigute ( am, ሸፈራው ሸጉጤ, ''shefärawə shegut'ē'') is an Ethiopian politician who was the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture & Livestock, Minister of Education, President of the SNNPR, and Chairman of the then SEPDM (South ...

(SEPDM), March 2006 – July 2013 *

Dessie Dalke Dessiè City which is politically oppressed by the past Ethiopian government systems due to the fact that most of the population follow Islamic religion. Dessie ( am, ደሴ, Däse; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a town in north-central Ethiopia ...

, July 2013 – 2018 * Million Mathiwos, 2018 – 2019 * Erstu Yirdaw, August 31, 2019 – present

Administrative zones

The following table shows administrative zones and special woredas (an administrative subdivision which is similar to an

autonomous area In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

is based on information from 2022; the list of second administrative level bodies maintained by the

United Nations Geographic Information Working Group United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

dates from 2002. The information in the WHO spreadsheet is built on information received 18 September 2002 from the Ethiopian Ministry of Federal Affairs.

Former zones

* Keficho Shekicho Zone *

North Omo Zone North Omo Zone ( Amharic: ሰሜን ኦሞ) was a zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It was named after the Omo River, which flows in the western area of the former zone. In 2000 it was split into three ...

References

External links

*
Map of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region at UN-OCHA
(

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

file)
Map of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region at DPPA of Ethiopia
(PDF file)
Ethiopia's Vanishing Tribes
slideshow by ''Life'' magazine {{Authority control 1994 establishments in Ethiopia Ethiopian Highlands Regions of Ethiopia States and territories established in 1992