List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Bench Sheko

Bench Sheko is a zone in the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region, with Mizan Aman as its administrative centre. Its six woredas and town administrations counted 452,421 people in the 2007 census, projected to 674,878 for 2022.

The zone was formerly Bench Maji. When Bench Maji was divided, the Me’enit and Dizi districts to the south became West Omo. The remainder was renamed Bench Sheko, after its two main peoples. The whole zone moved from the Southern Nations region into the new South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region on 23 November 2021.

Woredas (Districts)

Older listings still assign Bero, Meinit Goldiya and Meinit Shasha to this zone. They now belong to West Omo, and the figures below exclude them.

Major Towns

Mizan Teferi and Aman sit about 4 km apart and are run as one town administration, Mizan Aman. Mizan Teferi holds the market, the bus station and the coffee trade; Aman holds the hospital and the college. Every other woreda has its own small centre, but none is large enough to appear in national town tables.

Geography

Bench Sheko lies in Ethiopia’s south-western highlands, on the wet slope that falls away towards the Sudanese lowlands. Mount Guraferda, at 2,494 m, is the high point. Altitude drops sharply westward into Guraferda woreda, which is hot, forested and thinly settled.

The zone borders West Omo to the south and south-east, Sheka to the north, Keffa to the north-east, and the Gambela Region to the west. Rainfall is heavy and spread over most of the year, which is why so much of the zone is still under forest.

Demographics

The 2007 census counted the zone together with what is now West Omo, giving 652,531 people across 19,252 km². On today’s boundaries the six Bench Sheko woredas account for 452,421 of that total, and the 2022 projection puts them at 674,878. All post-2007 figures are projections; Ethiopia’s last full census was in 2007.

Bench was the first language of 54.54% of that wider 2007 population, followed by Me’en at 21.36% and Amharic at 12.5%. Most Me’en speakers live in the districts that are now part of West Omo, so Bench is a larger share of the present zone. Sheko, Sheko people’s own language, is spoken in Sheko woreda. Amharic serves as the language of trade and administration.

Economy & Local Life

Coffee carries the zone. Forest and semi-forest arabica is bought at Mizan Teferi and trucked to Addis Ababa. In the year ending 2005 the zone produced 10,097 tonnes, about 4.4% of national output. Farmers also grow maize, sorghum, enset and fruit, and keep bees — forest honey is a steady cash earner.

Guraferda woreda holds resettlement villages established from the 1980s and commercial farms growing coffee and cereals. Market days at Mizan Teferi draw traders from across the zone and from Sheka.

Getting There

Mizan Aman is roughly 560 km south-west of Addis Ababa by asphalt road via Jimma and Bonga. Buses take two days for the full run or one long day from Jimma. A second route reaches the zone from Tepi in Sheka, and a rougher road runs south to Jemu in West Omo.

Mizan Teferi Airport lies just outside town and has handled scheduled domestic flights.

FAQ

Where is Bench Sheko Zone?

In south-western Ethiopia, in the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region, about 560 km from Addis Ababa by road.

What is the capital of Bench Sheko?

Mizan Aman, the joint administration of the twin towns Mizan Teferi and Aman.

How many woredas are in Bench Sheko?

Six: Shay Bench, Debub Bench, Semien Bench, Sheko, Guraferda and the Mizan Aman town administration.

What was Bench Sheko called before?

Bench Maji. The zone was renamed after West Omo was separated from it.

What language is spoken in Bench Sheko?

Bench is the main first language, with Sheko in Sheko woreda and Amharic widely used for trade and schooling.

What does Bench Sheko produce?

Coffee above all, plus maize, sorghum, enset, fruit and forest honey.