Ethiopian Atlas
Regional state

Gambela

The Baro River, Ethiopia's largest navigable waterway
The Baro River, Ethiopia's largest navigable waterway · photo: T U R K A I R O, CC BY 2.0 (source)

Gambela is a regional state of Ethiopia, covering 31,246 km² — 2.8% of the national territory, 9th of the 12 regional states by area. Its administrative centre is Gambela. Its projected 2022 population is 492,002 — about 16 people per km². It comprises 4 zones and 15 woredas (districts).

Gambela is a lowland region of rivers and wetlands on the South Sudanese border, drained by the Baro — Ethiopia's only substantially navigable river. Gambella National Park, the country's largest, lies within the seasonal floodplains that host one of Africa's great antelope migrations (the white-eared kob).

Sources: Britannica — Baro River

Where Gambela sits in Ethiopia

31,246
km²
2.8%
of national territory
4
zones
15
woredas
492,002
people (2022 proj.)
16
per km²
9th
by area of 12 states
Administrative centreGambela
P-codeET12
Boundary valid from2025-01-01

Zones

AgnewakItang SpecialMajangNuwer

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Every figure on this page is computed from the OCHA COD-AB Ethiopia dataset (April 2026 release, CC BY 3.0 IGO). Richer geographic and historical profiles, with cited sources, arrive in Phase 2.