East Welega ( om, Wallagga Bahaa) is one of the

zones 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 central

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 Benis ...

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 ...

. This administrative division acquired its name from the former province of

Welega Welega (also spelled Wollega; ; am, ወለጋ) was a Provinces of Ethiopia, province in western Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Wollega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries. Weleg ...

. Towns and cities in this zone include

Nekemte Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market town and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 met ...

. East Welega is bounded on the southwest by Illubabor, on the west by the

Didessa River The Didessa River (pronounced: ɗeɗ:e:s:a; om, Dhedheessa) is a river in western Ethiopia. A tributary of the Abay River, it rises in the mountains of Gomma, flowing in a northwestern direction to its confluence where the course of the Abay has ...

which separates it from West Welega, on the northwest and north by the

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Benishangul-Gumuz ( am, ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ, Benšangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia to the border of Sudan. It was previously known as Region 6. The region's capital is Assosa. Following the adoption of the 1 ...

, on the northeast by

Horo Guduru Welega Zone Horo Guduru Welega ( om, Walllaga Horroo Guduruu) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Welega, whose eastern part lay in the area Horo Guduru Welega now occupies. Horo Guduru Welega was formed of wored ...

, on the east by West Shewa, and on the southeast by the

Gibe River The Gibe River (also Great Gibe River) is by far the largest tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia and typically flowing south-southeast. The confluence of the large Gibe River at with the smaller Wabe River forms the even larger Omo River. Co ...

which separates it from

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...

. The highest point in this zone is

Mount Garochan Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(3,276 m). 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 ...

(CSA) reported that 40,606 tons of

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

were produced in West and East Welega combined in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority. This represents 35.3% of the Region's output and 17.9% of Ethiopia's total output.

Organized ethnic cleansing and displacement of Amharas

On November 8th 2021, European Times reported mass displacement and killings of ethnic Amharas by Oromos with direct or indirect complicity of Oromia regional government.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 1,213,503, of whom 606,379 are men and 607,124 women; with an area of 12,579.77 square kilometers, East Welega has a population density of 96.46. While 162,854 or 7.72% are urban inhabitants, a further 28 persons are pastoralists. A total of 255,534 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.75 persons to a household, and 246,680 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported in East Welega were the Oromo (87.74%) and the Amhara (10.89%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.37% of the population. Oromo was spoken as a first language by 88.13% and 10.85% spoke Amharic; the remaining 1.02% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

Protestantism 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 ...

, with 48.42% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 37.04% of the population 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 Chri ...

and 12.09% were Muslim. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 1,253,432 in 252,821 households, of whom 616,565 were men and 636,867 women; 138,736 or 11.07% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in East Welega were the Oromo (88.5%), and the Amhara (10.47%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.03% of the population. Oromo was spoken as a first language by 89.37%, and 9.9% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.73% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

, with 61.74% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 16.44% of the population said they were

Protestant 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 ...

, 12.44% held traditional beliefs, and 8.27% were Muslim.''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).

Crime

* Abo church massacre, 5 March 2021

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Oromia Region Zones of Ethiopia