Ethiopia is administratively divided into four levels: regions, zones, '' woredas'' (districts) and ''

kebele A ward ( am, ቀበሌ; om, Araddaa; ) is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia: a ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a district, itself usually part of a zone, which in turn are grouped int ...

'' (wards). The country comprises 11 regions and two city administrations under these regions, plenty of zones, woredas and neighbourhood administration: kebeles. In addition to the nine federal states within the country, there are two federal-level city administrations in Addis Ababa and Dire Dava.

Current

Region

The first administrative division in Ethiopia is a ''region'', also called ''kilil'', or alternatively ''regional state''. The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia established the regions based on ethno-linguistic territories. Previously, this ''level'' was called a province, and though many of the old province and new region names are the same, the entities are ''not'' identical and the words ''region'' and ''province'' are not interchangeable. , there were eleven regions. * Afar Region * Amhara Region * Benishangul-Gumuz * Gambela * Harari * Oromia * Sidama *

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

* South West *

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

* Tigray Additionally there are two independently chartered cities which are on the same level as a region. *

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, ...

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali R ...

Zone

Regions are subdivided into '' zones''. The number of zones varies, but most regions have around six to twelve zones. The largest region Oromia has over 20 zones, and the two smallest regions have none. There are some cities which are set up as "special zones", such as

Bahir Dar Special Zone Bahir Dar ( amh, ባሕር ዳር, 3=sea shore) is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The ci ...

in the Amhara Region. The earlier equivalent to a zone was called an ''awrajja'', and many zones today are named the same as their earlier awrajja, but the terms ''zone'' and ''awrajja'' are not interchangeable.

Woreda

Zones are divided into '' woredas'' (districts). In Ethiopia, the woredas comprise three main organs: a council, an executive and a judicial. The Woreda Council is the highest government organ of the district, which is made up of directly elected representatives from each kebele in the woredas. The representative of the people in each kebele is accountable to their electorate. The woreda chief administration is the district's executive organ that encompasses the district administrator, deputy administrator, and the head of the main sectoral executive offices found in the district, which are ultimately accountable to the district administrator and district council. The quasi-judicial tasks belong to the Security and Justice administration. In addition to woredas, city administrations are considered at the same level as the woredas. A city administration has a mayor whom members of the city council elected. As different regional constitutions govern woredas, the names of the bodies may differ.

Kebele

Woredas are divided into ''

'', municipalities. This is the smallest administrative division. This is sometimes also called ''tabia'' or ''tabiya''. They are at the neighbourhood level and are the primary contact for most citizens living in Ethiopia. Their administrative unit consists of an elected council, a cabinet (executive committee), a social court and the development and security staff. Kebeles are accountable to their woreda councils and are typically responsible for providing basic education, primary health care, agriculture, water, and rural roads.

Historic provinces and awrajjas

Prior to the 1995 Constitution, Ethiopia was divided into

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, and those were further subdivided into

awrajja Awrajja ( am, አውራጃ) were the third-level country subdivisions which subdivided the Provinces of Ethiopia prior to 1996. Awrajja roughly translates to "county" or "sub-province", and contained a number of "woreda" or districts, the fourth le ...

s, then into woredas and then sub-woredas. Boundaries were sometimes redrawn and the number of provinces varied across time.

Awrajja Awrajja ( am, አውራጃ) were the third-level country subdivisions which subdivided the Provinces of Ethiopia prior to 1996. Awrajja roughly translates to "county" or "sub-province", and contained a number of "woreda" or districts, the fourth le ...

were subdivisions of provinces, and were the rough equivalent of the current term ''zones''. After the 1995 Constitution, the terms "province" and "awrajja" were dropped in favor of the terms "region" and "zone".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subdivisions Of Ethiopia

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 Er ...