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Ethiopia isadministratively divided into four levels:regions,zones,woredas (districts) andkebele (wards).[1][2] The country comprises 12 regions and two city administrations under these regions, plenty of zones, woredas and neighbourhood administration: kebeles. In addition to the Twelve federal states within the country, there are two federal-level city administrations in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.[3]
The first administrative division in Ethiopia is aregion, also calledkilil, or alternativelyregional state. The1995 Constitution of Ethiopia established the regions based on ethno-linguistic territories.[1][4] Previously, thislevel was called aprovince, and though many of the old province and new region names are the same, the entities arenot identical and the wordsregion andprovince are not interchangeable. As of 2023[update], there were twelve regions.
Additionally there are two independentlychartered cities which are on the same level as a region.
Regions are subdivided intozones. The number of zones varies, but most regions have around six to twelve zones. The largest region Oromia has over 20 zones, and the two smallest regions have none. There are some cities which are set up as "special zones", such asBahir Dar Special Zone in the Amhara Region. The earlier equivalent to a zone was called anawrajja, and many zones today are named the same as their earlier awrajja, but the termszone andawrajja are not interchangeable.
Zones are divided intoworedas (districts). In Ethiopia, the woredas comprise three main organs: a council, an executive and a judicial. The Woreda Council is the highest government organ of the district, which is made up of directly elected representatives from each kebele in the woredas. The representative of the people in each kebele is accountable to their electorate. The woreda chief administration is the district's executive organ that encompasses the district administrator, deputy administrator, and the head of the main sectoral executive offices found in the district, which are ultimately accountable to the district administrator and district council. The quasi-judicial tasks belong to the Security and Justice administration. In addition to woredas, city administrations are considered at the same level as the woredas. A city administration has a mayor whom members of the city council elected. As different regional constitutions govern woredas, the names of the bodies may differ.[3]
Woredas are divided intokebele, municipalities. This is the smallest administrative division. This is sometimes also calledtabia ortabiya. They are at the neighbourhood level and are the primary contact for most citizens living in Ethiopia. Their administrative unit consists of an elected council, a cabinet (executive committee), a social court and the development and security staff. Kebeles are accountable to their woreda councils and are typically responsible for providing basic education, primary health care, agriculture, water, and rural roads.[3]
Prior to the1995 Constitution, Ethiopia was divided intoprovinces, and those were further subdivided intoawrajjas, then into woredas and then sub-woredas. Boundaries were sometimes redrawn and the number of provinces varied across time.[a]Awrajja were subdivisions of provinces, and were the rough equivalent of the current termzones. After the 1995 Constitution, the terms "province" and "awrajja" were dropped in favor of the terms "region" and "zone".[1]
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