Belessa was one of the 105

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 ...

s in the

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 after the former province Belessa, which lay in the same area. Part of 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 ...

, Belessa was bordered on the south by the

Debub Gondar Zone South Gondar or Debub Gondar (Amharic: ደቡብ ጎንደር), is one of Zones in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. This zone is named for the city of Gondar, which was the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century, and has often been used as a na ...

, on the west by

Gondar Zuria Gondar Zuria (Amharic: ጎንደር ዙሪያ, lit. "Greater Gondar Area") is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, ''Gondar Zuria'' is bordered on the south by the Debub Gondar Zone, on the southwest by Lake Tana, ...

, on the northwest by

Wegera Wegera or Wogera (Amharic: ወገራ), is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Wegera is named for the former province Wegera, which was located roughly in the same location, and was later made part of the province of Semien. Part of the Semien ...

, on the northeast by

Jan Amora Jan Amora (Amharic language, Amharic: ጃን አሞራ ''jān āmōrā'', meaning "Royal eagle") is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Jan Amora is bordered on the south by M ...

, and on the east by the

Wag Hemra Zone Wag Hemra (Amharic: ዋግ ኽምራ) is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Its name is a combination of the former province of Wag, and the dominant local ethnic group, the Kamyr (or "Hemra") Agaw. Wag Hemra is bordered on the south by ...

. Towns in Belessa included Arbaya and Hamusit. Belessa was separated for

Mirab Belessa Mirab Belessa or West Belessa is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Belessa, which lay in the same area. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Mirab Belessa is bordered on the south by Debub Gond ...

and

Misraq Belessa Misraq Belessa (Amharic: ምስራቅ በለሳ) transliterated as "East Belessa" is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Belessa, which lay in the same area. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, ...

woredas. Rivers in Belessa include the Balagas. A notable landmark is Mount

Wehni Wehni () is the name of one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male heirs to the Emperor of Ethiopia were interned, usually for life. It was the last of the three such mountains, or ''amba (geology), amba'', said to have been used for ...

, where the former royal prison of the heirs to the throne of the

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...

was located. Due to its inaccessibility and the lack of the most basic infrastructure, in 1999 the Regional government classified Belessa as one of its 47 drought prone and food insecure woredas. A 2005 survey of the eastern part of this woreda described it as a highly degraded and seriously drought-affected mountainous area, with an altitude that varied between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level. The member of

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from Belessa is the former President of the Amhara Region, and one time Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Addisu Legesse.

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 190,968, of whom 93,207 are men and 97,761 are women; 10,121 or 5.30% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 14.1%. With an estimated area of 2,560.63 square kilometers, Belessa has an estimated population density of 74.6 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 60.23. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 140,214 in 28,046 households, of whom 72,535 were men and 67,679 women; 5,857 or 4.18% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The largest ethnic group reported in Belessa was the Amhara (99.11%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.89% of the population.

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 ...

was spoken as a first language by 99.31%; the remaining 0.69% spoke all other primary languages reported. 97.25% 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 ...

, and 2.64% of the population said they 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 the Amhara Region Districts of Amhara Region