Merti

Merti is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Merti is bordered on the south by Sude, on the west by Jeju, on the northwest by the Misraq Shewa Zone, on the north by the Afar Region, on the east by Aseko, and on the southeast by Chole. The administrative center of this woreda is Abomsa; other towns in Merti include Reye.

Overview

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1000 to 3280 meters above sea level; the highest points include Gora, Welergi, and Gara Sirri. Rivers include 65 kilometers of the Awash, 98 of the Arba Dima, 88 of the Arba Guracha, and 35 of the Homba. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 28% is arable or cultivable (20% in agricultural production), 39% pasture, 27% other kinds of vegetation, and the remaining 6% includes all other categories.^[1] The Faraqasa pilgrimage center, founded by Ayyo Momina in 1927, which embraces a syncretism of Christian and Moslem beliefs and rituals, is an important local landmark.^[2] A lesser one is the Arbagugu state forest. Linseed and teff are important cash crops.^[1]

Industry in the woreda includes quarrying and pottery making, 61 small scale industries (including grain mills) that employ 178 people, as well as 727 registered traders 17.6% of whom were wholesalers, 42.4% retailers and 40% service providers. There were 25 Farmers Associations with 14,179 members and 4 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 6958 members. Merti has 148 kilometers of dry-weather and 105 of all-weather road, for an average road density of 197 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 22.7% of the total population has access to drinking water.^[1]

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 135,023, of whom 67,257 are men and 67,766 are women; 26,053 or 19.30% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,282.19 square kilometers, Merti has an estimated population density of 105.3 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 132.2.^[3]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 93,895, of whom 47,201 were men and 46,694 women; 14,575 or 15.52% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Merti were the Oromo (71.29%), and the Amhara (26.3%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.41% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 65.38%, and 33.79% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.83% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 59.71% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 39.91% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Socio-economic profile of Arsi Zone Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006)
2. ^ Gemechu Jemal Geda, "The Faraqasa indigenous pilgrimage center. History and ritual practices", Master's thesis in indigenous studies, University of Tromsø (2007)
3. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables B.3 and B.4
4. ^ 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)

Coordinates: 8°20′N 39°50′E / 8.333°N 39.833°E / 8.333; 39.833