Ferfer (woreda)

Ferfer (Somali: Feerfeer) is a woreda in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Ferfer. Part of the Gode Zone, Ferfer is bordered on the west by Mustahil, on the north by the Korahe Zone, and on the east and south by the Provisional Administrative Line with Somalia. The Shebelle River flows through this woreda.

The average elevation in this woreda is 422 meters above sea level.^[1] As of 2008^[update], Ferfer has 41 kilometers of asphalt road, 60 of all-weather gravel road, and 314 kilometers of community roads; about 21.2% of the total population has access to drinking water.^[2]

The October 2007 flooding by the Shebelle River displaced approximately 5,000 people in this woreda, and devastated kebeles that had not been affected in the worst flooding of 2006.^[3]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 38,984, of whom 21,225 are men and 17,759 women. While 5,717 or 14.67% are urban inhabitants, a further 20,251 or 51.95% are pastoralists. 99.34% of the population said they were Muslim.^[4]

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 32,055, of whom 17,525 were men and 14,530 were women; 2,956 or 9.22% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Ferfer was the Somali (99.99%).^[5]

Notes

1. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey of 55 Weredas of PCDP Phase II, Part I Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (Addis Ababa: August 2008), Annex 1 (accessed 23 March 2009)
2. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey, Annexes 16, 17
3. "Ethiopia Flood Situation Report, 5 October 2007", UN-OCHA Ethiopia Report (accessed 8 February 2009)
4. Census 2007 Tables: Somali Region Archived November 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 3.1 and 3.4.
5. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Archived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine 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.

5°20′N 45°20′E