Goba (woreda)

Goba is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the woreda capital, Goba.

Part of the Bale Zone, Goba is bordered on the south by Mennana Harena Buluk, on the west by Adaba, on the north by the Mena River which separates it from Sinanana Dinsho, and on the southeast by Berbere.

About 45% of this woreda is rugged or mountainous; Mount Tullu Demtu is the highest point in this woreda, the Zone and the Oromia Region; other important peaks include Mount Batu. Rivers include the Togona and Shaya. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 13% is arable or cultivable, 27.6% pasture, 54.6% forest (or part of the Bale Mountains National Park), and the remaining 4.8% is considered degraded or otherwise unusable. Cereals, horse beans, field peas and lentils are important crops. [ [http://oromiagov.org/Socio%20Economic%20Profile/Bale/Bale%20Zone.pdf "Socio-economic profile of the Bale Zone"] Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).]

Industry in the woreda includes 40 grain mills, 18 edible oil mills and 13 other small-scale factories employing 214 people, as well as 80 wholesalers, 464 retailers and 198 service providers. There were 9 Farmers Associations with 4534 members and 5 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 2350 members. Goba has 92 kilometers of all-weather road, for an average road density of 56.8 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 41.7% of the total population has access to drinking water. [Government of Oromia Region, "Socio-economic profile."]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 92,791, of whom 47,774 were males and 45,017 were females; 50,650 or 54.59% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 13.5%. With an estimated area of 1,619.38 square kilometers, Goba has an estimated population density of 57.3 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 27. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4]

Notes