Gerbo (woreda)

Gerbo is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Gerbo. Part of the Fiq Zone, Gerbo is bounded on the northwest by Segeg, on the north by the Degehabur Zone, on the west by the Korahe Zone, on the south by the Gode Zone, and on the east by Dihun.

In January 2007, the Ogaden National Liberation Front struck in the woreda, killing five local officials who refused to hand over heavy weapons to the rebels.^[1]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 45,413, of whom 25,507 are men and 19,906 women. While 6,742 or 14.85% are urban inhabitants, a further 24,312 or 53.53% are pastoralists. 99.43% of the population said they were Muslim.^[2]

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 27,822, of whom 15,494 were men and 12,328 were women; 7,925 or 28.48% of its population were urban dwellers. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 3 rural kebeles, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 1,294 inhabitants, of whom 688 were men and 606 women.) The largest ethnic group reported in Gerbo was the Somali (95.31%).^[3]

Notes

1. Collective Punishment: War Crimes and crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State, Human Rights Watch Report (2008), p. 30
2. Census 2007 Tables: Somali Region, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 3.1 and 3.4.
3. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Tables 2.1, 2.2, 2.13 (accessed 12 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.

Coordinates: 7°35′N 42°55′E / 7.583°N 42.917°E