The Amhara Region (Amharic: አማራ ክልል, romanized: Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (Amharic: የአማራ ብሔራዊ ክልላዊ መንግሥት), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara, Awi, Xamir, Argobba, and Qemant people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Regional Government of Amhara.
The Amhara Region is located in the northwestern part of Ethiopia between 8°45' and 13°45' North latitude and 36° 20' and 40° 20' East longitude. Its land area is estimated at about 170,000 square kilometers. Amhara borders Tigray Region in the North, Afar in the East, Oromiya in the South, Benishangul-Gumuz in the Southwest and the country of Sudan in the west.
Amhara is divided into 11 zones, and 140 Weredas. There are about 3429 kebeles (the smallest administrative units). Decision-making power has recently been decentralized to weredas and thus the woredas are responsible for all development activities in their areas. The 11 administrative zones are: North Gonder, South Gonder, West Gojjam, East Gojjam, Awie, Wag Hemra, North Wollo, South Wollo, Oromia, North Shewa and Bahir Dar City special zone.
Like other regions in Ethiopia, Amhara is subdivided into administrative zones.
Here is a map of the Amhara region showing its administrative zones:
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Map of Amhara Region of Ethiopia
Geography and Environment
The Amhara region has the most world heritage sites of any region in Ethiopia and is endowed with natural and geographic wonders and ecosystems. The historic Amhara region contains much of the highland plateaus above 1500 meters with rugged formations, gorges and valleys, as well as millions of settlements for Amhara villages surrounded by subsistence farms and grazing fields.
The region contains Ethiopia's largest inland body of water Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile river. Amhara is the site of the largest inland body of water in Ethiopia, Lake Tana (which is the source of the Blue Nile), and Semien Mountains National Park (which includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia).
When the Blue Nile's flow is at maximum volume (during the rainy season from June to September), it supplies about two-thirds of the water of the Nile proper. Until the 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Blue Nile, together with the Atbara River to its north (which also flows out of the Ethiopian Highlands), caused annual Nile floods that contributed to the fertility of the Nile Valley.
Lake Tana contains several islands, whose numbers vary depending on the water level in the lake. The lake islands were the home of ancient Ethiopian emperors. Treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam and Mertola Maryam). The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island; other Emperors whose tombs are on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. In the late 20th century, the scholar Paul B. Henze reported being shown a rock on the island of Tana Qirqos and being told it was where the Virgin Mary had rested during her journey back from Egypt.
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In 2015 Lake Tana was recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve for its enormous biodiversity, and national and international importance. The Semien Mountains National Park has been designated as one of the first natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the world, and the very first in Africa in the natural criteria since 1978. Chosen for its spectacular landscapes and global significance for biodiversity conservation. Situated within the Semien Mountains, Ethiopia's highest peaks Ras Dashen reaches an elevation of (4,543 m (14,905 ft)). The park also has Ethiopia's second and third highest mountains, Kidis Yared (4,453 m (14,610 ft)) and Mount Bwahit (4,437 m (14,557 ft)). The park is home to endangered species found nowhere else in the world, examples of endemic fauna include the iconic walia ibex, the gelada baboon, and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox) among others.
Interspersed on the landscape are higher mountain ranges and cratered cones, the highest of which, at 4,620 meters, is Ras Dashen Terara northeast of Gonder. Millennia of erosion have produced steep valleys, in places 1,600 meters deep and several kilometers wide. In these valleys flow rapid streams unsuitable for navigation but possessing potential as sources of hydroelectric power and water for irrigation.
A day in the Simien Mountains National Park with the Gelada Baboons
Historical Context
During the Ethiopian Empire, Amhara included several provinces (such as Bete Amhara, Gojjam, Gonder, Angot, Dembiya, Shewa and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus. The current Amhara region corresponds to often large parts of the former provinces of Begemder, Dembiya, Angot, Bete Amhara, Gojjam and Shewa.
With the rise of the Solomonic Dynasty in 1270 under Emperor Yekuno Amlak in Bete Amhara near town Dessie around Lake Hayk (born in the Maqdalla region) and until the establishment of Gondar as the new imperial capital around 1600, the Debre-Birhan to Mekane-Selassie region was the primary seat of the roving Wolloye-Shewan emperors. The region's recorded history, in fact, goes back to the early 13th century.
For example, St. The parish of Mekane Selassie (መካነ ሥላሴ), near Neded and the home of the cathedral by the same name, served as a favourite royal playground. The construction of Mekane Selassie (meaning: the abode of the Trinity) was begun by Emperor Naod (1494-1508) and completed by his son Emperor Lebna Dengel. This was a year before the church (along with a large number of monasteries in the region) was sacked and burned down in 1531 by the invasion led by Ahmad bin Ibrahim.
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Amhara region also leads in cultural world heritage sites in Ethiopia, with the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela jointly added with Senegal's Gorée island as Africa's first World Heritage site by Unesco in the cultural criteria in 1978. Lalibela and its medieval monolithic churches attracts by far the most number of pilgrims annually of any religious site in Ethiopia. The New Jerusalem was built in response to the capture of old Jerusalem by Muslim forces during the Siege of Jerusalem (1187), after which Muslims denied Ethiopian Christians pilgrimages to the Holy land.
Unesco also added Fasil Ghebbi in 1979 as a cultural World Heritage Site. The Royal Enclosure of Fasil Ghebbi was the seat of the Ethiopian Emperors in Gondar the royal capital for more than two centuries(1636 to 1864 AD). The Fasil Ghebbi consist of some twenty palaces, royal buildings, the royal library, a chancellery, a banqueting hall, stables for the horses, highly decorated churches, monasteries and unique public and private buildings that was built during the reign of several emperors in the Gondarine period.
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar
Demographics
Based on the 2007 census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Amhara region has a population of 17,221,976. 8,641,580 were men and 8,580,396 women; urban inhabitants number 2,112,595 or 12.27% of the population. With an estimated area of 154,708.96 km2 (59,733.46 sq mi), this region has an estimated density of 108.2 people per square kilometer. At 91.47% of the local population, the region is predominantly inhabited by people from the Semitic-speaking Amhara ethnic group. Most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic language communities, including the Agaw/Awi, Oromo, Beta Israel, Qemant, Agaw/Kamyr and Argobba.
Religion
The predominant religion of the Amhara for centuries has been Christianity, with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church playing a central role in the culture of the Amhara region. According to the 2007 census, 82.5% of the population of the Amhara region (which is 91.2% Amhara) were Ethiopian Orthodox; 17.2% were Muslim, and 0.2% were Protestant ("P'ent'ay"). The Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains close links with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Easter and Epiphany are the most important celebrations, marked with services, feasting and dancing.
Orthodox Cathedral in Dessie City
Culture and Traditions
Marriages are often arranged, with men marrying in their late teens or early twenties. Traditionally, girls were married as young as 14, but in the 20th century, the minimum age was raised to 18.
Traditionally, upon childbirth, a priest will visit the family to bless the infant. The mother and child remain in the house for 40 days after birth for physical and emotional strength.
Netela (white head covering) worn by three Amhara girls.
Economy and Resources
There are several industrial parks that are in operation or under construction. Barley, corn, millet, wheat, sorghum, and teff, along with beans, peppers, chickpeas, and other vegetables, are the most important crops. In the highlands one crop per year is normal, while in the lowlands two are possible.
Government and Administration
The executive branch is headed by the Chief Administrator of Amhara Region. The current Chief Administrator is Yilikal Kefale, a Prosperity Party member who was elected on 30 September 2021. The current vice president is Alemnew Mekonnen. The other offices in the executive branch cabinet are the Regional Health Bureau (Dr.
There are three levels of the Amhara state judiciary. The lowest level is the court of common pleas: each woreda maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over all justiciable matters. The intermediate-level court system is the district court system. Four courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in an administrative zone. The highest-ranking court, the Amhara Supreme Court, is Amhara's "court of last resort". A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters.
Challenges
A 2000 report by USAID paints a grim picture of life in most of Amhara, especially the Eastern half. The land has been cultivated for millennia with no variations, or improvement in the farming techniques. The resulting environmental damage has contributed to the trend of deteriorating climate with frequent draughts, loss of crops and the resulting food shortage as well as periodic famines.
The Amhara region suffers from recurrent droughts and pest invasions. Of the 105 woredas in the region, forty-eight are drought-prone and chronically food-secure. There has been no single year since 1950 where there was no drought in the eastern part of the region. Famines have been recorded as far back as biblical times. On the other hand, much of the western half of the region has good soils and adequate rainfall and typically produce agricultural surpluses.
Cereals account for more that 80 percent of cultivated land and 85 percent of total crop production. The principal cereal crops in the Amhara region are teff, barley, wheat, maize, sorghum and finger millet. Pulses and oil crops are the other major categories of field crops. About 27.9 percent of the livestock in Ethiopia, 30.7 percent of the poultry, and 18.5 percent of the beehives are found in the Amhara region.
The USAID estimated a population growth rate of 3% per year and a doubling time of 25 years. This is also true nationally. This rapid population growth rate has led to severe land shortages and rapid natural resource degradation. In the Amhara region, 94 percent of households have insufficient land to meet their food needs. Rural households are compelled to clear and cultivate marginal lands on steep hillsides. Only one to three percent of the Amhara region remains forested. Overgrazing further denudes the land of vegetative cover. Forage requirements are estimated to be 40 percent below needed levels to maintain the current livestock population.
Much of the annual rainfall comes in short violent events of up to 100 mm/day. The exposure of denuded slope areas to this type of rainfall results in Ethiopia having one of the most serious soil degradation problems in the world. Annual rates of soil loss in the Amhara region in some steep lands and overgrazed slopes exceed 300 tons/ha/year, or 250 mm/year. Land degradation has been a major problem for several decades. Individual farmers as well as the three governments the country had in the last half century considered resettlement the only safety valve, leading to the out-migration of several hundred Amhara farmers to other regions of the country.
The numbers and percentages don't point to a highly literate populace able to make informed choices about issues like family size, income generation, respect for women's rights, etc. For instance, Amhara men represent the highest proportion (13.4%) of men who feared that contraception will make women promiscuous, and the second highest proportion (24%) of men who responded that their wives should get sterilized; not them. Nearly two-thirds of Amhara males are illiterate and less than a third have attended a primary school.
Amhara women compare much less favorably than men to the population in Addis Ababa. More than three-quarters are illiterate. The proportion who have completed high school is a dismal 1.7 percent with clear implications for a number of demographic outcomes including births - use of contraceptives (only 16% are using), number of pregnancies, timing, birth intervals, etc., and child survival - breast-feeding, immunization, hygiene, nutrition, supplementation, medical care, avoidance of harmful traditional practices, etc. The low level of education also has effects on migration probabilities, and definite impacts on types of economic opportunities available to Amhara women at places of destination. Moreover, over-fourths of Amhara women have no access to media - news papers, radio, or television - and are unable to benefit from national educational campaigns on health, immunization, and safe child-bearing and rearing practices. At 71% the proportion of Amhara men with no access to media is slightly lower than women.
There is evidence of a down turn in fertility among Amhara women as confirmed by the reported current fertility rate (TFR) of 5.1 in the 2005 DHS, one of the lowest recorded for the 11 regions of the country. Of the predominantly rural regions, only Gambella has a lower TFR (4.0). The reported number of children ever born (CEB) of 7.0 for women aged 40-49 during the 2005 DHS attests to the recency of the fertility decline. There is evidence of a generational shift, as women in the 40-49 age group reporting an average of 7children ever born represent the "mother" generation of those just starting their reproductive years.
Amhara girls are married off very young, in part, to insure virginity at the time of marriage. Another direct (intermediate) determinant of fertility often studied in demography is the length of breast-feeding, and the resulting lactational amenorrhoea (inability to conceive). At 20.8 months, Amhara women have the longest median length of lactational amenorroea followed by women in Tigray. The number for Amhara is possibly one of the major factors behind the relatively lower total fertility rate (TFR) in Amhara.
Infant and child mortality have been on a decline in Amhara, and nationally. However, the Amhara region is still beset by high mortality regimes both among infants and older children, with rates higher than the national average. The highest percentage difference in mortality rates between Amhara and the nation at large is among neonates where 18% more newborn infants die in Amhara than in the nation as a whole before reaching the age of one month. The second highest percentage difference is in child mortality (15.1%) followed by Infant mortality (14.8%) and post-neonatal mortality (14.3%).
Roughly a quarter of women in Amhara, Oromiya and Benishangul Gumuz received prenatal care. Only two regions - Afar and Somali - fared worse with Somali women registering a single-digit attendance rate. These are very low numbers even in comparison to rates in the other predominantly rural regions of Tigray Gambella and SNNP.
Recent Events
After the social movements of 2014-2017, Amhara nationalism developed strongly in the region, with a discourse that includes both issues of power balance between elites and territorial claims. In April 2023, a strife occurred between the regional special forces of federal government and Fano militia units, advancing to large scale protests in Gondar, Kobo, Seqota, Weldiya on 9 April. Further insurgency was escalated between the two belligerents, resulted in War in Amhara. Since August 2023, Fano militants and ENDF troops intermittently controlled most part of the region, leading to major human rights violations and subsequent state of emergency.