Nekemte

Nekemte
Naqamtee
City
Nekemte is located in Ethiopia
Nekemte
Nekemte
Location within Ethiopia
Nekemte is located in Africa
Nekemte
Nekemte
Nekemte (Africa)
Coordinates: 9°5′N 36°33′E / 9.083°N 36.550°E / 9.083; 36.550
Country Ethiopia
Region Oromia
ZoneEast Welega
Elevation
2,088 m (6,850 ft)
Population
 (2007)[1]
 • Total
75,219
 • Estimate 
(2021)[2]
148,613
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
ClimateCwb

Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (Oromo: Naqamtee, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market city and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of 9°5′N 36°33′E / 9.083°N 36.550°E / 9.083; 36.550 and an elevation of 2,088 meters.

Nekemte was the capital of the former East Welega, and is home to a museum of Machaa Oromo culture. It is a burial place of Onesimos Nesib, a famous Oromo who translated the Bible to Oromo Language for the first time, in collaboration with Aster Ganno. It is also the seat of an Apostolic Vicariate of the Roman Catholic Church.[3] Nekemte is host to Wollega University.[4] It is served by an airport that is not currently open to commercial flights.

Nekemte is at the center of the road network for south-western Ethiopia. The first major road dates to the early 1930s, with a road that extended from the capital Addis Ababa west through Addis Alem, although the road was passable only by lorries for the 255 kilometers between Addis Alem and Nekemte.[5] Pankhurst later notes in his book that this road had five toll-gates.[6] A road connecting Nekemte to Gimbi, 110 kilometers in length, was part of the first stage of the Third Highway Program in 1963. Postal service for this city has been present as early as 1923. A branch of the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority began providing electricity to the city by 1960. By 1957, phone service extended to the city.[3]

  1. ^ "Population and Housing Census 2007 – Oromia Statistical" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Service. 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Population Projection Towns as of July 2021" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Local History in Ethiopia"[permanent dead link‍] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 27 January 2008)
  4. ^ "Wollega university official website". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  5. ^ Pankhurst 1968, p. 293.
  6. ^ Pankhurst 1968, p. 522.