North Wollo (

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 ...

: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a

zone Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...

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 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 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

Afar Region The Afar Region (; ; ), formerly known as Region 2, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash, Ethiopia, Awash� ...

; part of its southern border is defined by the Mille River. Its highest point is Mount Abuna Yosef. Its towns include Lasta Lalibela (known for its rock-cut churches) and Weldiya (also spelled Woldia). North Wollo acquired its name from the former province of

Wollo Wollo (Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia. During the Middle Ages this province name was Bete Amhara and it was the centre of the Solomonic emperors. Bete Amhara had an illustrious place in Ethiopian political and ...

Overview

" All eight rural woredas of this Zone have been grouped amongst the 48 woredas identified as the most drought prone and food insecure in the Amhara Region. Most of this Zone is mountainous and characterized by steep slopes, which are unsuitable for agriculture and severely limits the cultivated area. A survey of the land in this Zone shows that 24% is arable or cultivable, 4.6% pasture, 0.37% forest, 17.4% shrubland, 47.3% degraded or unusable, and the remaining 6.3% all other uses. To combat increasing droughts and improve crop yields, 12 irrigation projects have been undertaken in five woredas, affecting 1.64 square kilometers and benefiting 6,783 households. Historical Districts of Semien Wollo include Raya Kobo, Lasta Lalibela,

Wadla Wadla (Amharic: ዋድላ) is a Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named for the former district which lay roughly in the same area. Part of the Semien Wollo Zone, Wadla is bordered on the southeast by Delanta, on the ...

Delanta Delanta (Amharic ደላንታ) is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the South Wollo Zone, Delanta is bordered on the south by the Bashilo River which separated it from the Debub Wollo Zone, on the w ...

, Gidan, Bugna, and Meket.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 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 Zone has a total population of 1,500,303, an increase of 19.04% over the 1994 census, of whom 752,895 are men and 747,408 women; with an area of 12,172.50 square kilometers, North Wollo has a population density of 123.25. While 155,273 or 10.35% are urban inhabitants, a further 2 persons are pastoralists. A total of 355,974 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.21 persons to a household, and 343,504 housing units. The largest ethnic group reported in North Wollo was the Amhara (99.38%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.62% of the population.

is spoken as a first language by 99.28%; the remaining 0.72% spoke all other primary languages reported. 82.74% 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 17.08% 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 Zone of 1,260,317 in 309,231 households, of whom 633,702 were men and 626,615 women; 89,055 or 7.07% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The largest ethnic group reported in North Wollo was the Amhara (99.61%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.39% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.62%; the remaining 0.38% spoke all other primary languages reported. 83.36% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 10% of the population said they were Muslim. According to a May 24, 2004

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

memorandum, 6% of the inhabitants of North Wollo have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 69.7 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers (compared to the national average of 30 kilometers), the average rural household has 0.7 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and a regional average of 0.75 for the Amhara Region) and the equivalent of 0.7 heads of livestock. 13.2% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a Regional average of 21%. 27% of the zone is exposed to

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and none to

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 577.

Education

According to the 2004 World Bank memorandum, at the time 48% of all eligible children in this Zone are enrolled in primary school, and 10% in secondary schools. However, in October 2006, the Zonal education department announced that the construction of 48 new schools in the previous year had increased school enrolment by 41,000. This raised the total enrollment to 228,990 out of an estimated 300,000 potential students, or a total 76% of all eligible students."Ethiopia: Education Service Coverage Increasing"
(Ethiopian Herald)

Notes

External links

Svein Ege, "North Wälo 1:100,000. Topographic and administrative map of North Wälo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia."
{{Districts of the Amhara Region Amhara Region Zones of Ethiopia