List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Gofa Zone

Gofa Zone is a zone of the South Ethiopia Region with its capital at Sawla, also known as Felege Neway. The woredas that now form Gofa held 469,716 people at the 2007 census, and the 2022 projection is about 664,200. The zone lies west of the Gamo Highlands, on broken midland and lowland country that falls away towards the Omo River.

Gofa was created in 2019, when the former Gamo Gofa Zone was split into Gamo and Gofa. It moved into the new South Ethiopia Region on 18 August 2023, when the SNNPR was dissolved.

Woredas (Districts)

Gada woreda was created after the census and has no separate 2007 figure. Sawla and Bulki are the zone’s town administrations.

Major Towns

Bulki is the zone’s second town and the historic seat of the Gofa country. Other rural centres named on official maps include Beto, Laha, Koza, Burda and Kencho.

Geography

Gofa is hilly and undulating, mostly midland and upper lowland, and the terrain is steep enough that floods and landslides are a recurring hazard in the rainy season. The ground falls westward towards the Omo, where the Koysha hydroelectric scheme is under construction on the river. Sawla stands on the road that crosses the zone from Arba Minch to Jinka.

That instability is not theoretical. On 21 and 22 July 2024 two landslides struck Kencho Shacha, a locality in Geze Gofa woreda, after heavy rain. The second slide came down while rescuers were digging out victims of the first. At least 257 people were killed, making it the deadliest landslide recorded in Ethiopia.

The zone borders Gamo Zone to the east, Basketo Zone to the west, Ari Zone and South Omo Zone to the southwest, and South West Ethiopia Region to the northwest.

Demographics

The 2007 census recorded 469,716 people across the woredas that now make up Gofa. The 2022 figure of about 664,200 is a Central Statistical Agency projection, since no census has been completed since 2007.

Gofa is the main language of the zone and an Omotic language closely related to Gamo and Wolaytta; Oyda woreda speaks Oyda, a separate Omotic language. Amharic is the language of administration and schooling. Protestant Christianity is the largest religion, followed by Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.

Economy & Local Life

Farming is almost entirely smallholder. Maize, enset, sweet potato, taro, teff and yams are the food crops, and coffee grows on the wetter middle slopes. Butter and firewood are sold for cash income, and cattle and goats are kept throughout. Sawla’s market is the trading point for the whole zone and for traffic moving between the Gamo Highlands and the Omo valley.

Getting There

Sawla sits on the road from Arba Minch west towards Jinka, which is the main route into the lower Omo. As of 2004 the zone had about 75 kilometres of all-weather road, and much of the network away from that corridor is dry-weather only. The nearest airports with scheduled flights are at Arba Minch to the east and Jinka to the south.

FAQ

Where is Gofa Zone?

In the South Ethiopia Region, west of the Gamo Highlands, on the road between Arba Minch and Jinka.

What is the capital of Gofa Zone?

Sawla, also called Felege Neway, projected at about 61,000 people for 2022.

When was Gofa Zone created?

In 2019, when Gamo Gofa Zone was divided. It became part of the South Ethiopia Region in August 2023.

How many woredas are in Gofa Zone?

Seven rural woredas, plus the town administrations of Sawla and Bulki.

How many people live in Gofa Zone?

469,716 at the 2007 census, with about 664,200 projected for 2022.

Where were the 2024 Gofa landslides?

At Kencho Shacha in Geze Gofa woreda, on 21 and 22 July 2024. At least 257 people died.