Provinces of Ethiopia facts for kids

For a long time, Ethiopia used to be split into big areas called provinces. These provinces were then divided into smaller parts called awrajjas or districts. But in 1995, Ethiopia changed how it was organized. It started using new areas called regions (or kililoch) and special cities, which were based on different language groups and cultures.

History of Ethiopia's Provinces

Map of the provinces of Ethiopia in 1935. This map shows how Ethiopia was divided before 1936.

Provinces Before 1936

Some of the older provinces, which existed before Italy took control of Ethiopia for a short time (from 1936 to 1941), are still often mentioned today when people talk about places in Ethiopia.

These older provinces included:

Provinces from 1942 to 1974

Map of the provinces of the Ethiopian Empire from 1943 to 1987.

After 1941, the Ethiopian government decided to divide the country into 12 main provinces. These were also known as taklai ghizat.

The 12 provinces were:

Later, Bale was created as a 13th province in 1960. It was split off from the Hararghe province. In 1962, Eritrea joined Ethiopia and became the 14th province.

Provinces from 1974 to 1991

In 1974, a new group called the Derg took control of Ethiopia. They changed the name of the provinces to 'regions' (or kifle hager).

By 1981, Addis Ababa became its own separate area, no longer part of Shewa. Also, Aseb was separated from Eritrea in 1981. This meant there were 16 administrative divisions in total.

Under the 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia, the military government of the Derg changed into a civilian government called the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This new government decided that the country would be divided into "autonomous regions" (which had more self-rule) and "administrative regions."

The National Shengo (Ethiopia's parliament at the time) created these regions in 1987. There were 30 regions in total: five autonomous regions and 25 administrative regions.

The five autonomous regions were:

The twenty-five administrative regions were:

See also

• History of Ethiopia

In Spanish: Provincias de Etiopía para niños