Hawassa

Hawassa is the capital of Ethiopia's Sidama Region, on the shore of Lake Hawassa in the Great Rift Valley about 273 kilometers south of Addis Ababa. Its city-proper population was 157,879 at the 2007 census, with a 2023 estimate of 577,075 reflecting rapid growth. Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a seasonal palace built on the lakeshore in 1958, and the town became the political center of what was then the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region in 1968, before becoming capital of the newly formed Sidama Region in June 2020. The Hawassa Industrial Park, opened in 2016 for apparel and fabric production, employed more than 35,000 workers at its peak, and the city is also home to Hawassa University and serves as a regional market and fishing center.