Efratana Gidim (

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 ...

: ኤፍራታና ግድም "Efrata and Gedem") is 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 is named after two historic districts that were part of the former autonomous kingdom of

Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

Efrata Efrat (), or previously officially Efrata (), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, east of the Green Line, at the Palestinia ...

and Gedem. Part of the Semien Shewa Zone, Efratana Gidim is bordered on the south by

Kewet Kewet was the brand name of a battery electric vehicle. Since 2007, it has been manufactured under the name Buddy (electric car), Buddy by Elbil Norge in Oslo, Norway. From inception in 1991 through October 2013, total combined sales of the Ke ...

, on the southwest by

Menz Mam Midir Menz Mama Midir (Amharic: መንዝ ማማ ምድር) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the district of the former province of Menz, Mama Meder. Located at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands in the ...

, on the west by

Menz Gera Midir Menz Gera Midir is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is partly named after the northern district of the former province of Menz, Gera Meder. Located at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands in the Semien Shewa Zone, Me ...

, on the north by Antsokiyana Gemza, and on the east by the

Oromia Zone The Oromia Zone (; Amharic: ኦሮሚያ ዞን) is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Oromia is named for the Oromo people, who settled along the edge of the Ethiopian Highlands that form this Zone. Oromia Zone is bordered on the southwest by ...

. The administrative center of this woreda is Ataye (Effeson); other towns in Efratana Gidim include Karakore.

Overview

The highest point in the woreda, as well as the Semien Shewa Zone, is

Mount Abuye Meda Abuye Meda (Amharic: አቡዬ ሜዳ) is a mountain plateau located between three woreda's; Gishe in the west, Antsokiyana Gemza to the north, and Efratana Gidim to the south. It is the highest elevation of the Semien Shewa Zone in the Amhara ...

(4012 meters). Megalithic archeological sites have been identified in this woreda beginning in 1980, most having legends or folktales associated with them. Most recently a megalithic site was discovered, unknown to local residents, 10 kilometers southwest of Ataye and 15 kilometers east of Gadilo Meda, comprising six stelae, three of which were phallic in shape.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted 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 ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 110,493, an increase of 9.94% over the 1994 census, of whom 55,672 are men and 54,821 women; 15,319 or 13.86% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 516.85 square kilometers, Efratana Gidim has a population density of 213.78, which is greater than the Zone average of 115.3 persons per square kilometer. A total of 26,239 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.21 persons to a household, and 25,427 housing units. 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 88.46% reporting that as their religion, while 10.99% 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 ...

. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 100,507 in 17,323 households, of whom 50,422 were men and 50,085 were women; 16,515 or 16.43% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Efratana Gidim were the Amhara (95.27%), the Argobba (2.9%), and the

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

(1.11%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.72% of the population.

was spoken as a first language by 98.59%, and

Oromiffa Oromo, historically also called Galla, is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Oromo people, native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia; and northern Kenya. It is used as a lingua franca in Oromia and n ...

was spoken by 0.98%; the remaining 0.43% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced

, with 88.74% reporting that as their religion, while 10.99% were

.''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