Gurage people

The Gurage people are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 6,867,377 people, of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 5.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 9.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). The Gurage people traditionally inhabit a fertile, semi-mountainous region in southwest Ethiopia, about 125 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, bordering the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River (a tributary of the Omo River) to the southwest, and Lake Zway in the east. In addition, according to the 2007 Ethiopian national census the Gurage can also be found in large numbers in Addis Ababa, Oromia Region, Dire Dawa, Harari Region, Somali Region, Amhara Region, Gambela Region, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and Tigray Region.