Mekdela (

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 ...

: መቅደላ) 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 ...

. Part of the Wollo, Mekdela is bordered on the southwest by the Walo Shabatala River which separates it from Sayint, on the west by Semien Gondar Zone, on the north by the

Bashilo River The Bashilo River (less often known as the Beshitta) is located in Ethiopia. Known for its canyon, which one source describes as almost as extensive as the canyon of its parent the Abay River, Abay, also known as the Blue Nile, the river originate ...

which separates it from the Semien Wollo Zone, and on the east by Tenta. The major town in Mekdelais Masha. Elevations in this woreda range from 700 meters above sea level where the Bashilo leaves it to 3600 meters at its southeastern point on the upper slopes of Mount Amba Ferit,

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 142,654, an increase of 34.03% over the 1994 census, of whom 69,626 are men and 73,028 women; 5,115 or 3.59% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,491.38 square kilometers, Mekdela has a population density of 95.65, which is less than the Zone average of 147.58 persons per square kilometer. A total of 35,041 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.07 persons to a household, and 33,622 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 70.94% reporting that as their religion, while 28.88% 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 106,435 in 25,813 households, of whom 52,567 were men and 53,868 were women; 2,037 or 1.91% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Mekdela was the Amhara (99.96%).

was spoken as a first language by 99.94%. The majority of the inhabitants were

, with 71.83% of the population reported as practicing that belief, while 28.04% of the population said they professed

.''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