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. 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. As of 1997, the ethnic composition of the Region was 99.01%
Somali, 0.30%
Amhara, 0.5%
Oromo; all other ethnic groups made up 0.2% of the population. 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. 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. The region is home to almost all major Somali clan families with the majority being from the Ogaden tribe of
Darod comprising 65% of the total population. Except for
Liben and
Sitti, the Ogaden clan have a majority presence in all other nine zones. Various subclans of the Darod clan family such as
Geri, 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 clans and
Leelkase inhabit the
Dollo zone where they are a majority while the
Marehan clan inhabit the
Shilavo woreda and the
Liben zone. The
Akisho clan,
Issa,
Gadabuursi and
Jaarso subclans of the
Dir primarily inhabit the northern
Sitti zone,
Awbare zone. The
Habr Awal,
Garhajis,
Arap and
Habr Je'lo clans of the
Isaaq clan family inhabit the northern part of respectively make up in
Harshin,
Hart Sheik, and
Wajaale (Ethiopian Side) towns. The
Arap Gursum woreda in
Fafan and
Harshim and
Misrak Gashamo woredas in
Jarar Zone inhabit Fafan and also settle and border
Kebri Beyah. The
Garhajis and
Habr Je'lo make up the majority in the
Awaare and
Misrak Gashamo woredas in
Jarar Zone.
Religion 99.74% of the population are
Muslim, All other religions together made up 0.26%. == Agriculture ==