Sodo Zuria

Sodo Zuria (Amharic "Greater Sodo Area") is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Wolayita Zone, Sodo Zuria is bordered on the southwest by Offa, on the west by Kindo Koysha, on the northwest by Damot Sore, on the north by Boloso Sore, on the northeast by Damot Gale,on the east by Damot Weyde, and on the southeast by Humbo. Town of Sodo was separated from Sodo woreda.

According to a 2004 report, Sodo Zuria had 22 kilometers of asphalt roads, 104 kilometers of all-weather roads and 48 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 380 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[1] In 2006 the Woreda Agriculture and Rural Development Office announced that they had begun development projects that included the creation or maintenance of 105 kilometers of road in 34 kebeles of Sodo Zuria woreda. This would cost 2.5 million Birr.^[2]

History

Sodo Zuria was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2004 as one of several woredas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas, becoming the new home for a total of 1268 heads of households and 5072 total family members.^[3]

The World Bank approved funding November 2007 for a project sponsored by World Vision Ethiopia to restore forest to 1,000 to 2,000 hectares in Soddo Zuria and 3,000 to 4,000 hectares in Humbo using native species, a program which would be funded with funds from carbon offset purchases.^[4]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 162,691, of whom 80,002 are men and 82,689 women; none of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were Protestants, with 66.67% of the population reporting that belief, 26.83% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 5.28% were Catholic. ^[5]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 200,866 of whom 99,979 were men and 100,887 were women; 36,287 or 18.07% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in Sodo Zuria were the Welayta (92.81%), the Amhara (2.6%), the Gamo (0.85%), the Dorze (0.77%), and the Silt'e (0.76%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.21% of the population. Welayta is spoken as a first language by 93.14%, 4.17% Amharic, 0.65% Gamo, and 0.58% speak Dorze; the remaining 1.46% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 52.03% of the population reporting they held that belief, while 43.06% were Protestants, 2.4% were Roman Catholic, and 1.61% were Muslim.^[6]

Notes

1. "Detailed statistics on roads", SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development website (accessed 15 September 2009)
2. "Office undertakes 2.5mln birr dev't works in Special Woreda in quarter year" Walta Information Center (last accessed 30 November 2006)
3. "Resettlement 2004", Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) (accessed 26 November 2006)
4. "Ethiopia - Humbo and Soddo Community-Based Natural Regeneration Project", World Bank website (accessed 3 March 2009)
5. Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Tables 2.1, and 3.4.
6. 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, 2.19 (accessed 30 December 2008)

Coordinates: 6°50′N 37°45′E / 6.833°N 37.750°E