Achefer (

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: አቸፈር) was a

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It was named for the historic district of Achefer, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Part of the

Mirab Gojjam Zone West Gojjam ( Amharic: ምዕራብ ጎጃም) or Mirab Gojjam is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Gojjam. West Gojjam is bordered on the south by the Abay River which separates it from the Orom ...

, Achefer was bordered on the south by the

Agew Awi Zone Agew Awi () is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Awi sub-group of the Agaw people, some of whom live in this Zone. Agew Awi Zone is bordered on the west by Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the north by North Gondar Zone ...

, on the west by the

Semien Gondar Zone North Gondar (Amharic: ሰሜን ጎንደር; or Semien Gondar) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century. Geography North Gondar is bordered on the ...

, on the north by

Lake Tana Lake Tana (; previously transcribed Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wide, with a maximum depth of , and ...

, on the northeast by

Bahir Dar Zuria Bahir Dar Zuria ( "Greater Bahir Dar Area") is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, this woreda is bordered on the south by Yilmana Densa, on the southwest by Mecha, on the northwest by the Gilgel Abay River which s ...

, and on the southeast by Merawi; the Lesser Abay River defined the woreda's eastern boundary. The woreda included

Dek Island Dek Island (Amharic: ደቅ ደሴት ''Däq Däset'') is the biggest island (approximately 16 square kilometers in size) on Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It is administratively included in the Bahir Dar Zuria woreda of the Mirab Gojjam Zone. To the so ...

. The administrative center was Yesmala; other towns in Achefer included Durbete, Liben, Kunzela, Chiba and Wandege. Acheref was divided for Debub Achefer and

Semien Achefer Semien Achefer (also known as North Achefer or Liben) is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named for the historic district of Achefer, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, Achefer is bordered on th ...

woredas.

Demographics

Based on figures published by the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 326,195, of whom 160,763 are men and 165,432 are women; 24,565 or 7.53% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 7.6%. With an estimated area of 2,515.64 square kilometers, Achefer has an estimated population density of 129.7 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 174.47. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 238,255 in 45,400 households, of whom 121,895 were men and 116,360 were women; 14,197 or 5.96% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Achefer was the Amhara (99.77%).

was spoken as a first language by 99.86%. The majority of the inhabitants practiced

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, with 98.77% reporting that as their religion, while 1.18% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2 (accessed 9 April 2009)

Notes

Districts of Amhara Region {{Amhara-geo-stub