Gambella

The small state, which covers an area of 25,274 square km along the southern Sudanese border, essentially comprises lush, humid lowland draining into the Baro River, an important tributary of the NileRiver. Relatively remote and undeveloped, Gambella region supports a predominantly rural population of roughly 406,000 ethnically varied people. The main nationalities represented in the vicinity of the regional capital, the small river port of Gambella, are the Nuer and Anuwak, who respectively account for 40% and 27% of the regional population. Minority goups include the Mezhenge, Apana, Komo and various recent migrants from the highlands. Although the state is predominantly Christian, more than half the population subscribes to recently introduced protestant and evangelical denominations, with the remainder adhering to Orthodox Christianity, Islam or traditional animism. A fair amount of wildlife - lion, elephant and buffalo as well as various monkeys and antelope - persists in Gambella region.