Tiro Afeta

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1640 to 2800 meters above sea level; mountains include Geshe, Haro, Gebera and Hako Albiti. Perennial rivers include the Gilgel Gibe, the Busa, the Nedi and the Aleltu. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 26% is arable or cultivable (20.5% was under annual crops), 8.3% pasture, 14% forest, and the remaining 51.7% is considered built-up, degraded or otherwise unusable. Forest land includes the Gesha forest, part of the Tiro Becho State Forest. Teff and corn are important cash crops.[1] Although coffee is another important cash crop of this woreda, less than 20 square kilometers are planted with this crop.[2]

Industry in the woreda includes 52 grain mills. There were 25 Farmers Associations with 11,010 members and 7 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 7,283 members. Tiro Afeta has 34 kilometers of dry-weather road, for an average road density of 34.9 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 71.5% of the urban and 9.8% of the rural population has access to drinking water.[1]

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 131,536, of whom 65,341 were men and 66,195 were women; 5,309 or 4.04% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 92.44% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 5.99% of the population said they practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 2.49% were Protestant.[3]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 130,554, of whom 66,732 are men and 63,822 are women; 2,328 or 1.78% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 973.91 square kilometers, Tiro Afeta has an estimated population density of 134.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 150.6.[4]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 94,619, of whom 46,529 were men and 48,090 women; 1,302 or 1.38% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Tiro Afeta were the Oromo (93.71%), and the Yem (5.27%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.02% of the population.[5] However according to one source, in the early 1990s 42,600 members of the Yem lived in 17 kebeles of this woreda.[6] Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 97.05%, and 2.38% spoke Yemsa; the remaining 0.57% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 92.04% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 6.71% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 1.01% were Protestant.[5]

7°55′N 37°20′E