List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Mezhenger Zone

Mezhenger Zone, also called Majang Zone after the Majangir people, is the eastern zone of Ethiopia’s Gambela Region, and its centre is Meti. It counted 59,248 people at the 2007 census and about 89,000 under the 2022 CSA projection, across two woredas and 2,254.65 square kilometres.

Mezhenger is the odd one out in Gambela. While the rest of the region is hot flood plain under 550 metres, this zone is hilly, forested and wet, and more than 40 percent of it is standing forest. Both spellings of the name are in current use; official Ethiopian tables increasingly write Majang.

Woredas (Districts)

Godere holds roughly two-thirds of the zone’s people and its administrative centre, Meti, doubles as the zone seat. Mengesh, also written Mengeshi, is the smaller and more thickly forested of the two.

Major Towns

Neither town has a separately published population. Settlement outside them is scattered: Majangir households have traditionally lived in small forest clearings that shift every few years, and later arrivals from the highlands settled along the roads.

Geography

The zone lies on the wet escarpment where the south-western Ethiopian highlands drop towards the Gambela plain. Elevations run from 550 to 1,260 metres, the terrain is broken and hilly, and rainfall is high and long. Montane forest covers more than 40 percent of the area, which makes this the largest block of forest in the region by a wide margin.

Mezhenger is bordered on the west by Anuak Zone, on the north by the Oromia Region and its Illubabor Zone, and on the south and east by the South West Ethiopia Region, principally Sheka and Keffa zones. Older sources give that neighbour as the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, which was reorganised out of existence in 2023.

Demographics

The 2007 census recorded 59,248 residents, 30,567 men and 28,681 women. The 2022 projection is about 89,000.

No single group holds a majority. The Amhara were the largest at 26.96 percent, followed by the Kafficho at 25.17 percent, the Majangir at 16.86 percent, the Shakacho at 11.67 percent and the Oromo at 8.84 percent. Amharic is the most widely spoken first language at 37.08 percent, ahead of Kafa at 22.89 percent and Oromo at 9.91 percent, with Majang and Shakacho also spoken. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians form 46.5 percent of the population, Protestants 36.4 percent and Muslims 15.42 percent.

The Majangir are the zone’s titular people and give it its name, but decades of settlement from the neighbouring highlands have left them a minority in their own zone.

Economy & Local Life

This is the coffee corner of Gambela. Arabica grows wild in the forest understorey and is also cultivated in forest gardens; the Gambela Region produced 3,734 tons of coffee in 2004/05, 1.64 percent of the national crop, and this zone is where the region’s coffee is grown. Honey from forest hives, korerima and other forest spices, maize, enset and root crops fill out the household economy.

The Majang Forest Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2017, covers a large part of the zone and is intended to hold the line between forest, coffee gardens and clearing for farmland. Pressure on the forest from settlement and large-scale agriculture is the central local issue.

Getting There

Mezhenger is easier to reach from the highland side than from the rest of its own region. Roads come in from Tepi and Mizan Teferi in the South West Ethiopia Region to the south-east, and from Metu and Gore in Oromia to the north; the route from Gambela city runs east and then climbs.

There is no airport in the zone. The nearest scheduled flights land at Gambela, and the roads in are gravel for long stretches and slow in the long rains.

FAQ

Where is Mezhenger Zone?

In south-western Ethiopia, on the eastern edge of the Gambela Region, in the forested hills between the Gambela plain and the highlands of South West Ethiopia.

Is Mezhenger Zone the same as Majang Zone?

Yes. Both names refer to the same zone, and both are in use; Majang follows the name of the Majangir people.

What is the capital of Mezhenger Zone?

Meti, in Godere woreda.

How many woredas are in Mezhenger Zone?

Two: Godere and Mengesh.

What is the population of Mezhenger Zone?

59,248 at the 2007 census, projected to about 89,000 for 2022, at 26.28 people per square kilometre.

What language is spoken in Mezhenger Zone?

Amharic is the most widely spoken first language at about 37 percent, followed by Kafa at about 23 percent. Majang, Shakacho and Oromo are also spoken.