Rivers in this zone include the Berso, Sirso, Sanka, Usino and the Ergino.

However friction between the various ethnic groups in this Zone, which was often blamed on the Welayta for "ethnic chauvinism" and despite the efforts of the ruling party to emphasize the need to co-ordinate, consolidate, and unify the smaller ethnic units to achieve the "efficient use of scarce government resources", eventually led to the division of the Zone in 2000, and reorganizing Basketo as a special woreda.

[4] Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this zone has a total population of 56,689, of whom 28,532 men and 28,157 women.

With an area of 411.09 square kilometers, Basketo has a population density of 137.90; 5,215 or 9.20% are urban inhabitants.

64.06% were Protestants, 30.73% of the population said they were Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, 2.13% practiced traditional beliefs, 1.51% embraced Roman Catholicism, and 1.25% were Muslim.