Back ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልል Amharic بنيشنقول-قماز Arabic بنيشنقول-قماز ARZ Бенишангул-Гумуз (регион) Bulgarian Benishangul-Gumuz Breton Benishangul-Gumaz Catalan Benishangul-Gumuz Region CEB Beningšangul-Gumuz Czech Benishangul-Gumuz German Μπενισανγούλ Γκουμούζ (περιφέρεια) Greek
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Benishangul-Gumuz Region
በኒሸንጉል ጉሙዝ | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
 Map of Ethiopia showing the Benishangul-Gumuz Region | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Capital | Assosa |
| Government | |
| • Chief Administrator | Ashadli Hassan |
| Area | |
• Total | 50,699 km2 (19,575 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 7th |
| [1] | |
| Population (2017) | |
• Total | 1,127,001[2] |
| • Rank | 9th |
| ISO 3166 code | ET-BE |
| HDI (2019) | 0.476[3] low · 7th of 11 |
Benishangul-Gumuz (Amharic: በኒሸንጉል ጉሙዝ, romanized: Benšangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia bordering Sudan. It was previously known as Region 6. The region's capital is Assosa. Following the adoption of the 1995 constitution, the region was created from the westernmost portion of the Gojjam province (the part north of the Abay River), and the northwestern portion of the Welega Province (the part south of the Abay). The name of the region comes from two peoples – Berta (also called Benishangul, which is its original name) and Gumuz.
The region has faced major challenges to economic development, due to lack of transportation and communications infrastructure. The Abay River (Blue Nile) divides Benishangul-Gumuz, and there was no bridge crossing it until 2012. The major road that connects the Metekel Zone and the Assosa Zone was built by the China Construction Company in 2012. The road has a 365-meter bridge that crosses the Abay. Nowadays it is simple to travel between the regional capital of Assosa and Gilgil Beles, the capital of the Metekel Zone. Previously one had to travel through Wollega and Gojjam in the neighboring regions of Oromia and Amhara, a distance of 1,250 kilometers, but it is now around 378 kilometers on the new road and bridge. Conditions for travel within zones varies, but is often poor and subject to disruption by the rainy season.[4] On 28 July 2009, the Regional Rural Roads Authority reported that over the previous year almost 600 of the 800 kilometers of local all-weather roads had been upgraded at a cost of 11.5 million birr, and an additional 447 kilometers of roads constructed.[5]
- ^ "2011 National Statistics". Archived from the original on March 30, 2013.
- ^ Population Projection of Ethiopia for All Regions At Wereda Level from 2014 – 2017. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ^ John Young "Along Ethiopia's Western Frontier: Gambella and Benishangul in Transition" Archived 2018-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Modern African Studies, 37 (1999), p. 342
- ^ "State repairs 600 km roads"[permanent dead link], Ethiopian News Agency 28 July 2009 (accessed 1 November 2009)