List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Ari Zone

Ari Zone is one of the newest zones in Ethiopia, created in August 2023 when its woredas were separated from South Omo Zone. Its capital is Jinka, which was South Omo’s capital before the split. The woredas that form Ari held 277,988 people at the 2007 census, with about 408,000 projected for 2022.

The zone is named for the Aari people, whose homeland it covers. It sits on the highland shoulder above the lower Omo valley, and its creation gave the Aari their own zonal administration for the first time.

Woredas (Districts)

Ari has four rural woredas and three town administrations. Debub Ari and Semen Ari existed at the 2007 census; Baka Dawla Ari and Woba Ari were carved out of them afterwards, so their populations are counted within the two census figures below.

The town administrations are Jinka, Gazer and Gelila, each ranked as a woreda for administrative purposes.

Major Towns

Gazer and Gelila are the zone’s other town administrations. Rural service centres recorded in the area include Baka, Bere, Kure, Gob and Nusasafer.

Geography

Ari occupies well-watered highland and midland country between about 1,200 and 2,500 metres, on the escarpment where the Gofa hills drop towards the Omo lowlands. Jinka itself stands at 1,490 metres, high enough to be temperate while the plains an hour to the south are hot semi-desert. That altitude break is the zone’s defining feature: it is farming country immediately above pastoral country.

Ari borders South Omo Zone to the south, Gofa Zone to the northeast and Basketo Zone to the north.

Demographics

The two census-era woredas recorded 277,988 people in 2007, and the 2022 projection for them is about 408,000. Both later figures are Central Statistical Agency projections rather than counts, because no census has been completed since 2007.

The Aari are the large majority. Aari, an Omotic language, is the everyday language of the zone, and Amharic is used in administration and schooling. Protestant Christianity is the main religion, with Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and traditional practice also present.

Economy & Local Life

Ari is a farming zone rather than a herding one. Enset is the staple, grown in gardens around every homestead, alongside maize, sorghum, sweet potato and taro. Coffee, honey and spices are the cash earners, and Aari honey and pottery are traded well beyond the zone. Jinka’s market pulls in traders from the lowland peoples to the south, which makes it the main meeting point between highland farmers and Omo valley pastoralists.

Getting There

Jinka Airport, still listed by airlines under the town’s older name Baco, has scheduled flights from Addis Ababa and is the usual way in. By road, Jinka is reached from Arba Minch through Konso and Key Afer, or from Sawla in Gofa Zone. From Jinka the road continues south into South Omo towards Dimeka and Turmi.

FAQ

Where is Ari Zone?

In the South Ethiopia Region, on the highlands immediately north of the lower Omo valley, around the town of Jinka.

When was Ari Zone created?

In August 2023, when it was separated from South Omo Zone as part of the reorganisation that created the South Ethiopia Region.

What is the capital of Ari Zone?

Jinka, projected at about 54,400 people for 2022. It had been the capital of South Omo Zone before the split.

How many woredas are in Ari Zone?

Four rural woredas, Baka Dawla Ari, Debub Ari, Semen Ari and Woba Ari, plus the town administrations of Jinka, Gazer and Gelila.

What language is spoken in Ari Zone?

Aari, an Omotic language, spoken by the Aari people the zone is named for.