Afar Region

Afar Region
ዓፋር ክልል
Qafar Rakaakayak
Flag of Afar Region
Official seal of Afar Region
Map of Ethiopia showing Afar Region
Map of Ethiopia showing Afar Region
CountryEthiopia
CapitalSemera
Government
 • Chief AdministratorAwol Arba
Area
 • Total
72,053 km2 (27,820 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
 [1]
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
1,152,300[2]
 • Rank8th
ISO 3166 codeET-AF
HDI (2021)0.440[3]
low · 11th of 11

The Afar Region (/ˈɑːfɑːr/; Afar: Qafar Rakaakayak; Amharic: ዓፋር ክልል), formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved AwashAssab highway. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north and Djibouti to the northeast; it also shares regional borders with the Tigray, Amhara, Oromo and Somali regions.

The Afar Triangle, the northern part of which is the Danakil Depression, is part of the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, and is located in the north of the region. It has the lowest point in Ethiopia and one of the lowest in Africa. The southern part of the region consists of the valley of the Awash River, which empties into a string of lakes along the Djibouti–Ethiopia border. Other notable landmarks include the Awash National Park.

  1. ^ "2011 National Statistics". Archived from the original on March 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Population Projection of Ethiopia for All Regions at Wereda Level from 2014–2017 (PDF (automatic download)) (Report). Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-13.