Located in the West Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, at the base of a spur of the Chercher Mountains 40 km south of the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway and 65 km east of Awash, this town has a latitude and longitude of 8°54′N 40°47′E / 8.900°N 40.783°E / 8.900; 40.783 with an elevation of 1761 m above sea level.

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this town of 18,187, of whom 9,592 were men and 8,595 were women.

The majority of the inhabitants (64.49%) said they were Muslim, while 33.08% of the population practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and 2.07% were Protestant.

[1] The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 10,813 of whom 5,459 were males and 5,354 were females.

A post office was in service in Badessa before the Second Italian-Abyssinian War, operating from 1923.