Dizi (woreda)

Dizi is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the Dizi people, whose homeland lies in the northern part of this district; a different ethnic group, the Surma, inhabit the southern part. Part of the Bench Maji Zone, Dizi is bordered on the south by the Kibish River which separates it from Sudan, on the west by Surma, on the north by Meinit, and on the east by the Omo River which separates it from the Debub Omo Zone. Towns in Dizi include Tum and Maji.

Rivers in this woreda include the Netube and the Mui. High points include Mount Tiyaki and Mount Siski. A major portion of Dizi is included in the Omo National Park. Dizi suffers from a lack of roads and means of transport; remote locations are accessible only by air.^[1]

In May 2009, a Malaysian investor with over 3.7 billion Birr in capital was granted a lease to over 31,000 hectares of land to develop palm oil tree plantation on. The Zonal authorities also granted him an additional 10,000 hectares to cultivate rubber trees on.^[2]

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 33,218, of whom 17,270 were males and 15,948 were females; 7,820 or 23.54% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.1%. With an estimated area of 5,775.31 square kilometers, Dizi has an estimated population density of 5.8 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 20.^[3]

In the 1994 national census Dizi had a population of 22,346, of whom 10,738 were men and 11,608 women; 4,316 or 19.31% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this woreda were the Dizi (84.89%), the Amhara (9.41%), and the Oromo (3.07%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.63% of the population. Dizin was spoken as a first language by 83.42% of the inhabitants, and 15.3% spoke Amharic; the remaining 1.28% spoke all other primary languages reported.^[4] Concerning education, 24.74% of the population were considered literate; 15.67% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school; 7.85% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school, and 5.41% of the inhabitants aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school.^[5] Concerning sanitary conditions, about 57% of the urban and 14% of the total had toilet facilities.^[6]

Notes

1. ^ Joachim Ahrens, "Kefa - the Cradel of Coffee" UNDP-EUE Report, January 1997 (accessed 19 February 2009)
2. ^ "Malaysian investor launches 3.7 b birr palm oil tree plantation", Ethiopian News Agency 9 May 2009 (accessed 30 May 2009)
3. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables B.3 and B.4
4. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.15 (accessed 30 December 2008)
5. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 2, Tables 3.5, 3.7 (accessed 17 April 2009)
6. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 2, Tables 6.3, 6.13 (accessed 17 April 2009)

Coordinates: 5°55′N 35°40′E / 5.917°N 35.667°E / 5.917; 35.667