| Native Name: | Deegaanka Soomaalida ሱማሌ ክልል Soomaali Galbeed |
| Native Name Lang: | so |
| Settlement Type: | Regional state |
| Nickname: | DDS |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Ethiopia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Jijiga |
| Leader Title: | President of the Executive Committee |
| Leader Name: | Mustafa Muhummed Omer |
| Leader Title1: | Vice-President of the Executive Committee |
| Leader Name1: | Ibrahim Osman |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Rank: | 2nd |
| Area Total Km2: | 328,068 |
| Area Land Km2: | 328,068 |
| Area Water Km2: | 9,842 |
| Area Water Percent: | 3% |
| Population Total: | 5,748,998[1] |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | 35.81 |
| Population Rank: | 3rd |
| Population Demonym: | Somali |
| Timezone1: | EAT |
| Utc Offset1: | +3 |
| Area Code: | +251 |
| Iso Code: | ET-SO |
| Blank Name Sec1: | HDI (2019) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0.433[2] · 10th of 11 |
| Somali Region | |
| Flag Size: | 120px |
The Somali Region (so|Deegaanka Soomaalida, am|ሱማሌ ክልል|Sumalē Kilil, Oromo: Naannoo somaalee, ar| المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed [3] and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state in eastern Ethiopia. Its territory is the largest after Oromia Region.[4] The regional state borders the Ethiopian regions of Afar and Oromia and the chartered city Dire Dawa to the west, as well as Djibouti to the north, Somalia to the northeast, east and south; and Kenya to the southwest.[5]
Jijiga is the capital of the Somali Region. The capital was formerly Gode, until Jijiga became the capital in 1995 on account of political considerations.[6]
The Somali regional government is composed of the executive branch, led by the President; the legislative branch, which comprises the State Council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the State Supreme Court.
What is now the Somali Region was part of the conquests of Menelik II in the late 19th century.
The Somali Region formed a large part of the pre-1995 provinces of Hararghe, Bale and Sidamo. The population is predominantly Somali, and there have been attempts to incorporate the area into a Greater Somalia. In the 1977, Somalia invaded Ethiopia, igniting the Ogaden War, which Somalia lost due to timely military intervention from the Soviet Union and its ally Cuba. Despite this defeat, local groups still tried either to become part of Somalia or independent.[7]
The 2007 Abole oil field raid, in which 72 Chinese and Ethiopian oilfield workers were killed, has led to a series of military reprisals against the rebel group ONLF Ogaden National Liberation Front.
Until its first-ever district elections in February 2004, Zonal and woreda administrators and village chairmen were appointed by the Regional government. Senior politicians at the Regional level nominated their clients to the local government positions. In the 2004 local elections, each woreda elected a council including a spokesman, vice-spokesman, administrator, and vice-administrator. These councils have the responsibility of managing budgets and development activities within their respective districts.[8]
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Somali Region has a total population of 4,439,147, consisting of 2,468,784 men and 1,970,363 women; urban residents numbered 621,210 or 14% of the population, while rural residents numbered 3,817,937.[9] With an estimated area of 327,068 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 20.9 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 1, 685,986 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 6.8 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 6 and rural households 6.5 people.
There are 8 refugee camps and 1 transit center, housing 212,967 refugees from Somalia, located in Somali Region.
In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 3,383,165, of which Somalis made up 3,236,667. There were 1,846,417 were males and 1,537,748 were females. The urban residents of the Somali Region numbered 492,710 households, with an average of 6.6 persons per household; a high sex ratio of 120 males to 100 females was reported.[10] As of 1997, the ethnic composition of the Region was 95.67% Somali, 0.70% Amhara, 2.25% Oromo; all other ethnic groups made up 1.38% of the population.[11]
According to the CSA,, 38.98% of the total population had access to safe drinking water, of whom 21.32% were rural inhabitants and 77.21% were urban.[12] Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living for Somali include the following: 71.8% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 22% and for women 9.8%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 57 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.[13]
| Year | Ethiopia population | Somali Region population | % of Ethiopia | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 73,918,505 | 4,439,147 | 6.0% | http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |
| 2012 | 84,320,987 | 5,148,989 | 6.51% | https://web.archive.org/web/20130330021225/http://www.csa.gov.et/index.php?option=com_rubberdoc&view=doc&id=421&format=raw&Itemid=606 |
| 2013 | 86,613,986 | 5,527,000 | 6.99% | https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211418/http://www.csa.gov.et/images/documents/pdf_files/nationalstatisticsabstract/2012/2012%20POPULATION.pdf |
The Habr Awal, Garhajis, Arap and Habr Je'lo
Subclans of the Hawiye inhabit the western and southern areas of the region, with Degodia being majority in Liben and significant presence in some regions. Karanle and Sheekhaal present in the western areas bordering the Oromia region and the Hawadle and Habar Gidir subclans are present in the Shabelle zone. The closely related Samaale subclan of Garre are also present in the Liben zone and Dawa zone where they make up the majority.
Various subclans of the Darod clan family primarily inhabit the central and eastern parts of the region, with the Ogaden and Jidwaq inhabiting the interior as well as the major towns of Jijiga, Gode, Kebridehar. The Harti as well as the Leelkase clans inhabit the Dollo zone where they make up the majority while the Marehan clan inhabit the Shilavo woreda and the Liben zone.[16]
Somali as a primary language is spoken by 95.89% of the inhabitants. All other languages spoken together make up 4.11%.[17] [18]
98.74% of the population are Muslim, All other religions together made up 1.26%.[19] [20] [21]
The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in the Somali Region had a total of 1,459,720 cattle (representing 10.19%% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 1,463,000 sheep (20.66%), 1,650,970 goats (50.02%), 1,291,550 donkeys (30.66%), 5,3165,260 camels (96.2%), 154,670 poultry of all species (0.5%), and 5,330 beehives (0.12%). For nomadic inhabitants, the CSA provided two sets of estimates, one based on aerial surveys and the other on more conventional methodology:[22]
| Livestock | Aerial survey (conducted 5-23 Nov. 2003) | Conventional survey (conducted 11 Dec. 2003) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 670,280 | 130,610 | |
| Sheep | 6,410,800 | 250,110 | |
| Goats | 5,525,460 | 177,580 | |
| Camels | 1,041,870 | 64,510 | |
| Donkeys | 42,640 | 14,290 | |
| Mules | 430 | 160 | |
| Horses | 50 | - |
West from Addis Ababa, Awash 572 km via Harar and Jijiga to Degehabur
Somali Regional State has 3 international airport and 2 commercial airports. The international airports are Jijiga Airport, Gode Airport, and Kabri Dar Airport, The 2 commercial airports are Dolo Airport, and Shilavo Airport.
The executive branch is headed by the Chief Administrator of Somali Regional State. The current Chief Administrator is Mustafa Muhummed Omer (Cagjar), elected on 22 August 2018.[23] A Vice President of Somali Region succeeds the president in the event of any removal from office, and performs any duties assigned by the president. The current vice president is Adam Farah Ibrahim. The other offices in the executive branch cabinet are the Regional Health Bureau, Educational Bureau, and 18 other officials.[24]