Kelala (

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 ...

: ከለላ) is one of the

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 ...

. Part of the

Debub Wollo Zone South Wollo (Amharic: ደቡብ ወሎ) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It acquired its name from the former province of Wollo. South Wollo is bordered on the south by North Shewa and the Oromia Special Zone (Amhara), on the west b ...

, Kelala is bordered on the south by the Semien Shewa Zone, on the southwest by the

Walaqa River The Walaqa River, a tributary of the Blue Nile, is a river in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Wegde is located to its north. Mida Woremo and Dera, Oromia (woreda), Dera are to the south, while Kelala (woreda), Kelala is to the northeast. The Walaqa ...

which separates it from the

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

, on the west by Wegde, on the north by Legambo, on the northeast by Legahida, and on the east by

Jama ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...

. Towns in Kelala include Kelala and Liguama. Kelala town is 157 km far from Dessie in the Western direction.

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 136,545, an increase of 16.69% over the 1994 census, of whom 67,929 are men and 68,616 women; 7,640 or 5.60% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,422.15 square kilometers, Kelala has a population density of 96.01, which is less than the Zone average of 147.58 persons per square kilometer. A total of 32,815 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.16 persons to a household, and 31,497 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants 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 ...

, with 95.44% reporting that as their religion, while 4.43% of the population said they 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 ...

. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 117,011 in 27,422 households, of whom 58,069 were men and 58,942 were women; 4,060 or 3.47% of its population were urban dwellers. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Kelala were the Amhara (87.24%), and the Oromo (12.64%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.12% of the population.

was spoken as a first language by 90.72%, and 9.2% spoke Oromiffa; the remaining 0.08% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were

, with 95.53% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 4.33% of the population said they professed

. Historical Sites The Gascha Abagiworgis Monastery and the Borena Shiek Mosque are the two most important historical sites in Kelala Woreda
report%5CStatistical_Report%5Ck03%5Ck03_partI.pdf ''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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelala (Woreda) Districts of Amhara Region