Moyale, Oromia (woreda)

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1150 to 1350 meters above sea level; Mount Juldessa is the highest point. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 9% is arable, 60% pasture, 21% forest, and the remaining 10% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Cereals cultivated include corn, wheat, teff, barley and sorghum; sugar cane, banana and papaya are other important crops. Industry in the woreda includes 8 grain mills, some metal workshops, 4 wood working shops, 2 brick and tube factories. Deposits of gold, cobalt, graphite and muscovite are known in the woreda but have not been commercially developed. There were 15 Farmers Associations and one Farmers Service Cooperative. Moyale has 34 kilometers of dry-weather and 55 all-weather road, for an average road density of 5.71 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 3.8% of the rural and 39.7% of the urban population has access to drinking water. One attempt to resolve the dispute between the two Regions was the October, 2004 referendum held in about 420 kebeles in 12 woredas across five zones of the Somali Region. According to the official results of the referendum, about 80% of the disputed areas have fallen under Oromia administration, though there were numerous allegations of voting irregularities in many of them. == Demographics ==

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 31,162, of whom 16,129 were men and 15,033 were women; none of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 56.34% of the population reporting they observed these beliefs, while 38.68% of the population practiced traditional beliefs, 2.88% were Protestant and 1.99% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 128,016, of whom 60,529 were males and 67,487 were females; 25,038 or 19.56% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 15,575.47 square kilometers, Moyale has an estimated population density of 8.2 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 21.1. The majority of the inhabitants belong to the Garre, although there is an organized community of the Borena clan around the town of Moyale. == Notes ==