The form of subsistence agriculture practiced in this zone is based on cereal and enset. Important cash crops include teff, wheat, barley and pulses. Other important non-agricultural sources of income include selling butter and remittances.[1] According to a 2004 report, Yem had 12 kilometers of asphalt roads, 11 kilometers of all-weather roads and 31 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 81 kilometers per 1,000 square kilometers.[2]
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this zone has a total population of 80,687, of whom 40,566 are men and 40,121 women; with an area of 647.90 square kilometers, Yem has a population density of 124.54. While 7,952 or 9.86% are urban inhabitants, a further 106 or 0.13% are pastoralists. A total of 17,632 households were counted in this zone, which results in an average of 4.58 persons to a household, and 17,204 housing units. The three most numerous ethnic groups reported in this woreda were the Yem (90.57%), the Oromo (5.41%), and the Hadiya (1.27%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.75% of the population. Yemsa was spoken as a first language by 72.67% of the inhabitants, 22.63% spoke Oromo, 2.57% spoke Amharic, and 1.16% spoke Hadiya; the remaining 0.97% spoke all other primary languages reported. 63.05% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 27.09% were Muslim, and 9.61% were Protestants.[3]
In the 1994 Census Yem had a population of 64,852 in 13,643 households, of whom 32,382 were men and 32,470 women; 1,065 or 1.64% of its population were urban dwellers. The three most numerous ethnic groups reported in this zone were the Yem (91.87%), the Oromo (5.6%), and the Hadiya (0.82%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.71% of the population. Yemsa was spoken as a first language by 79.05% of the inhabitants, and 19.24% spoke Oromo; the remaining 1.71% spoke all other primary languages reported.[4]
71.24% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 25.14% were Muslim, and 3.48% were Protestants.[5] Concerning education, 29.08% of the population were considered literate; 8.13% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 2.33% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school, and 1.82% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school.[6] Concerning sanitary conditions, about 10% of the urban houses and 19% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; 69% of the urban and 33% of the total had toilet facilities.[7]
