It lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town and has a latitude and longitude of 7°3′N 38°28′E / 7.050°N 38.467°E / 7.050; 38.467 and an elevation of 1,708 meters (5,604 ft) above sea level.

[5] In 1957, with Ras Mengesha Seyoum at the head of the Sidamo Governorate General, Emperor Haile Selassie became greatly interested in establishing a new town in the area where the city is now located.

It was located on the important Addis Abeba– Moyale (Kenya) highway; its flat, expansive topography was conducive to city building; and the nearby tourist attractions of Lake Hawassa and the Dume hill (later named Tabor) provided a dramatic backdrop to the area.

In 1958, upon the order of the emperor, a seasonal palace for him was built along Lake Awasa in an area called Kutuwa.

The building of the palace intensified interest in the area among many people, most notably the empress herself proceeded to lay claim to extensive hectares of land in the name of the emperor.

Ras Andargachew Mesay refused to endorse the implementation of a large mechanized farming project in and around the Hawassa area by the Ministry of National Development unless he was guaranteed alternative land for the thousands of Sidama households.

[7] Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia, this zone had a total population of 258,808, of whom 133,123 were male and 125,685 female.

The park features a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) facility, enabling companies to meet stringent environmental standards required by international markets.

[12] The park faced significant challenges in 2022 due to factory closures and job losses following the United States government's decision to remove Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act's duty-free access to US markets.

[12] However, between October 2022 and January 2023, the park generated US$32 million in revenue, indicating a potential revival of the sector following the Pretoria peace agreement.

[14] The Latin Catholic minority is pastorally served by the missionary Apostolic Vicariate of Awasa, which has its Cathedral of Kidane-Meheret here.

Hawassa City S.C. (Amharic: ሀዋሳ ከተማ), a football club based in Hawassa—like Debub Police S.C. and Sidama Coffee S.C.—and using the Awassa Kenema Stadium, was the first to win the Ethiopian Premier League from outside of Addis Ababa, the capital.

Hawassa University, established in 1999 through the merger of a number of higher education institutions, is based in the city.