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This article contains Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters. The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fifth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 11 regional states. Tigray's official language is Tigrinya, similar to that spoken in Eritrea just to the North. The estimated population as of 2019 is 5,443,000. The majority of the population (c. 80%) are farmers, contributing 46% to the regional gross domestic product (2009). The highlands have the highest population density, especially in eastern and central Tigray. The much less densely populated lowlands comprise 48% of Tigray's area. Like many parts of Africa, Tigray is far from a religious monolith. Despite the historical identification of Ethiopia with Orthodox Christianity, the presence of Islam in Ethiopia is as old as the religion itself. The most recent Ethiopian census, collected in 2007, estimates that Muslims make up 34% of the rapidly growing national population. Although the percentage of Muslims in Tigray is only 5 to 10%, it has historically been Islam’s doorway to the region and to Africa at large. 96% of Tigrayans are Orthodox Christian. Tigray is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, the Amhara Region to the south and the Afar Region to the east and southeast. Towns in Tigray include: Mekelle, Adigrat, Axum, Shire, Humera, Adwa, Addi Remets, Alamata, Wukro, Maychew, Sheraro, Abiy Addi, Korem, Qwiha, Atsbi, Hawzen, Mekoni, Dansha, Adi Gudom, Sheraro, Indabaguna, Mai Tsebri, and Zalambessa. The government of Tigray consists of the executive branch, led by the president, Debretsion Gebremichael; the legislative branch, which comprises the state council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the state supreme court. In early November 2020, a conflict between the Tigray Region, involving the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian federal government began, in which Eritrea took part on the side of the federal government, rapidly escalating into the Tigray War, destabilizing the region, and exposing a well-organized campaign to wipe out the region of ethnic Tigrayans. The campaign was commenced after Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel prize in 2018. Eritrean troops along with ENDF and regional troops were positioned in the Tigray Region. Six hundred thousand Tigrayan casualties have been reported in the Tigray Genocide.
