Gidan (

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 ...

: ጊዳን) 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 ...

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 ...

. Part of the

Semien Wollo Zone North Wollo (Amharic: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by South Wollo, on the west by South Gondar, on the north by Wag Hemra, on the northeast by Tigray Region, a ...

, Gidan is bordered on the south by Guba Lafto, on the southwest by Meket, on the west by Lasta (formerly part of Bugna), on the north by the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

, and on the east by Kobo. The administrative center of the woreda is Muja town, another small towns in Gidan include Debre Tsehay, Densa, Bekilo Mneqia, Iyella, Dildiy, Asikit, and Wonday.

Overview

The topography of this woreda is characterized by numerous escarpments and generally steep hill slopes; however every hill slope, no matter how steep, is used for cultivation."North Welo - Food Security Situation: Effects of consecutive crop losses on farm households in Selected Areas"
UNDP-EUE Field report March 1999 (accessed 15 April 2009) The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1300 to over 4100 meters above sea level; the highest point in Gidan is Mount Abuna Yosef, on the border with Lasta (formerly Bugna). Rivers include the Tellare, a tributary of the Tekezé, along which Lieutenant-General Napier's men marched in 1868, after leaving the Dafat Pass. Gidan, as well as the other seven rural woredas of this Zone, has been grouped amongst the 48 woredas identified as the most drought prone and food insecure in the Amhara Region. Almost no trees can be seen in this barren landscape. Deep erosion gullies and the gravel, stone and rock covered valley bottoms attest to extensive

land degradation Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activitie ...

. An inspection in 1999 by members of the UNDP-EUE concluded that these slopes and escarpment areas were being used too intensively and in a highly unsustainable way.

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 158,428, an increase of 16.66% over the 1994 census, of whom 78,309 are men and 80,119 women; 7,720 or 4.87% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,089.80 square kilometers, Gidan has a population density of 145.37, which is greater than the Zone average of 123.25 persons per square kilometer. A total of 37,386 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.24 persons to a household, and 36,342 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 99.61% reporting that as their religion. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 135,805 in 33,380 households, of whom 67,560 were men and 68,245 were women; 4,127 or 3.04% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Gidan was the Amhara (99.96%),

was spoken as a first language by 99.97%, and 99.63% of the population practiced

.''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