Awasa

Awassa (also Awasa or Hawassa, Amharic አዋሳ Awassa) is the capital of the Sidama Region, in which it is located, and of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, to which it belonged until 2020 and for which a new capital is still being sought. It is located in southern Ethiopia on Lake Awassa in the East African Rift Valley, about 280 km south of Addis Ababa.

According to the 2016 estimate, Awassa had a population of 318,618. In 1994, out of 69,169 inhabitants, 31.42% were Amharic, 24.91% Wolaytta, 11.55% Oromo, 10.2% Sidama, 4.85% Kambaata, 4.6% Tigray, 3.23% Soddo-Gurage, 2.15% Silt'e, 2.13% Sebat-Bet-Gurage and 1.56% Hadiyya. 63.42% spoke Amharic as their mother tongue, 14.55% Wolaytta, 8.19% Sidama, 4.2% Oromo, 2.47% Tigrinya and 2.38% Kambaata.

The site of present-day Awassa may originally have been densely forested, and tall oaks and acacias still stand today, especially to the north and west of the town. The year-round availability of water made the place attractive to the inhabitants of the highlands, but in more recent times the water quality has deteriorated because, as in other Ethiopian towns, there is no waste disposal and sewage treatment system. The fact that Awassa became the capital of Sidamo Province and later the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region contributed to the strong growth of the city.

A road connects Awassa with Addis Ababa and with Nairobi.

Fishing in Lake Awasa is an important industry in the city. The international company Indochine, which employs 15,000 people worldwide, is developing a textile factory for outerwear locally; it employed 1500 seamstresses in 2017.

With Awasa Adventist College and Awassa University (formerly Debub University, University of the South), the city has two institutions of higher learning.

Awassa is the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Awassa. The largest and most famous church in the city is St. Gabriel.

Population development

The following overview shows the population figures according to the respective area status since the 1984 census.

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