Tigray Region
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Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Tigray region. |
Tigray is the northern-most of the nine
ethnic regions (
kililoch) of
Ethiopia inhabited mostly by
Tigray people. It was formerly known as
Region 1. Its capital is
Mek'ele.
Tigray is bordered by
Eritrea to the north (independent from Ethiopia since
1993),
Sudan to the west, the Ethiopian region of
Afar to the east and the Ethiopian region of
Amhara to the south. Besides Mek'ele, other major towns and cities in Tigray include
Abiy Adi,
Adigrat,
Adwa,
Aksum,
Humera,
Inda Selassie,
Korem,
Alamata,
Maychew,
Wukro and
Zalambessa.
:
For the history of the Tigray area prior to 1995, see Tigray Province.In
1998,
war erupted between Eritrea and Ethiopia over a portion of territory that had been administered at part of Tigray, which included the town of
Badme. Following a
2002 United Nations decision, much of this land was awarded to Eritrea.
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Canyon west of Adigrat in northern Tigray |
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency (CSA) of Ethiopia published in 2005, Tigray has an estimated total population of 4,334,996, consisting of 2,136,000 men and 2,198,996 women. 3,519,000 or 81.2% of the population are estimated to be rural inhabitants, while 816,000 or 18.8% are urban. With an estimated area of 50,078.64 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 86.56 people per square kilometer.
[CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.3.]According to the 1994 Census the state's population was 3,136,267, of which 1,542,165 were males and 1,594,102 were females. The urban residents of the region numbered 468, 478, and its rural residents 2,667,789. 95.5% of the population were Orthodox Christians, while 4.1% and 0.4% were Muslims and Catholics, respectively. The State is predominantly
Tigrayan, at 94.98% of the population, while 2.6% Amhara, 0.7% Irob (i.e.
Saho), and 0.05% Kunama. Its working languge is
Tigrigna.
[FDRE States: Basic Information - Tigray, Population (accessed 22 March 2006)]The CSA estimated in 2005 that farmers in Tigray had a total of 2,713,750 cattle (representing 7.0% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 72,640 sheep (0.42%), 208,970 goats (1.61%), 1,200 horses (less than 0.1%), 9,190 mules (6.24%), 386,600 asses (15.43%), 32,650 camels (7.15%), 3,180,240 poultry of all species (10.3%), and 20,480 beehives (0.47%).
[CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables D.3 - D.5.]A distinctive feature of Tigray are its rock-hewn churches. Similar in design to those of
Lalibela, these churches are found in four or five clusters with Wukro sometimes included. Some of the churches are considered earlier than those of Lalibela, perhaps dating from the
eighth century. Mostly
monolithic, with designs partly inspired by
classical architecture, they are often located at the top of
cliffs or steep hills, for security. For example, Tigray's ancient
Debre Damo monastery is accessible only by climbing a rope 25 meters up a sheer cliff.
*
Gebru Asrat (
TPLF) 1992 - 2001
*
Tsegay Berhe (TPLF) 2001 - present
(This list is based on information from
Worldstatesmen.org.)
*
Mirabawi (Western)
*
Misraqawi (Eastern)
*
Mehakelegnaw (Central)
*
Debubawi (Southern)
*
List of woredas in the Tigray Region*
FDRE States: Basic Information - Tigray*
Map of Tigray Region at UN-OCHA (
PDF file)
*
Debra Damo Monastery*
Ethiopian Treasures - Queen of Sheba, Aksumite Kingdom - Aksum*
Ethiopian Treasures - Emperor Yohannes IV Castle - Mekele*
Future Observatory - Dam Building in Tigray by David Mercer
