Dega is one of the

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

s in the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Part of the Buno Bedelle Zone, Dega is bordered on the south by

Chora Chora may refer to: Places Greece ''Chora'' (meaning "Town" in Greek), is often used as the name of the main town on an island, following the common practice in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal ...

, on the west by

Supena Sodo Supena Sodo ("Supe and Sodo") is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Illubabor Zone, Supena Sodo is bordered on the south by Yayu (woreda), Yayu, on the southwest by Metu (woreda), Metu, on the west by Darimu, on the ...

, on the north by the Mirab Welega Zone, on the northeast by the southern exclave of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and on the east by

Bedele Bedele (also called Buno Bedele) is a town and separate Aanaa in south-western Ethiopia. Located in the Buno Bedele Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of and an elevation between above sea level. History Ras Tes ...

. Towns in Dega include Dega and Mako. Mako woreda was part of Dega woreda.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 39,466, of whom 19,504 were men and 19,962 were women; 3,022 or 7.66% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants practised

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, with 43.82% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 40.49% of the population said they were

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, and 15.57% were

Moslem Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham ...

. Based on figures published by the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...

in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 63,542, of whom 32,871 are men and 30,671 are women; 4,876 or 7.67% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 12%. With an estimated area of 882.35 square kilometers, Dega has an estimated population density of 72 people per square kilometer, which is about the same as the Zone average of 72.3. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 45,423, of whom 22,029 were men and 23,394 women; 2,731 or 6.01% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Dega were the Oromo (91.91%), the Amhara (6.68%), and the Tigrayan (1.17%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.24% of the population.

Oromiffa Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language The Afroasiatic languag ...

was spoken as a first language by 93.23%, and 5.61% spoke

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

; the remaining 1.16% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

, with 81.36% of the population reporting they practiced that belief, while 9.87% of the population said they were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 5.29% were

, and 3.3% held traditional beliefs.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.13, 2.16, 2.20 (accessed 6 April 2009)

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Districts of Oromia Region