West Shewa Zone

West Shewa (Amharic: Mirab Shewa; Afaan Oromo: Shawaa Lixaa/Dhihaa) is one of the zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. West Shewa is bordered on the south by the Southwest Shewa Zone and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, on the southwest by Jimma, on the west by East Welega, on the northwest by Horo Gudru Welega, on the north by the Amhara Region, on the northeast by North Shewa, and on the east by Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne. Its highest point is Mount Wanchi (3386 meters); other notable peaks include Mount Menagesha and Mount Wachacha. Towns and cities in West Shewa include Ambo.

Between 2002 and 2005, a number of woredas were separated from West Shewa to create South West Shewa Zone.

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 2,058,676, of whom 1,028,501 are men and 1,030,175 women; with an area of 14,788.78 square kilometers, West Shewa has a population density of 139.21. While 242,352 or 6.10% are urban inhabitants, a further 53 individuals are pastoralists. A total of 428,689 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.80 persons to a household, and 415,013 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported in West Shewa were the Oromo (93.82%) and the Amhara (5.15%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.03% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 93.99% and 5.47% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.54% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 53.84% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 32.93% of the population professed Protestantism and 9.85% of the population said they held traditional beliefs.

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