Elu 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 Southwest Shewa Zone, Elu is bordered on the south by

Becho Becho is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia of Ethiopia. Part of the Southwest Shewa Zone, Becho is bordered on the south by Saden Sodo, on the west by Waliso, on the northwest by Dawo, on the north by Elu, and on the east by Tole. The major town in ...

, on the west by

Dawo Dawo is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia of Ethiopia. Part of the Southwest Shewa Zone, Dawo is bordered on the southwest by Waliso, on the west and north by Dendi, on the east by Elu, and on the southeast by Becho. The major town in Dawo is Bus ...

, on the north by

West Shewa Zone West Shewa Zone ( om, Shawaa Lixaa/Dhihaa) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. West Shewa is bordered on the south by the Southwest Shewa Zone and the Southern Nations, Na ...

, and on the east by the Awash which separates it from Alem Gena. Towns in Elu include Asgori and

Taji {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Taji , other_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , image_size = , image_caption = , im ...

. The August 2006 floods affected Elu, causing widespread damage. In this woreda—combined with Sebata, Awas, and Ejerie woredas—14,790 persons were affected and 2,052 people displaced.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 61,985, of whom 31,484 were men and 30,501 were women; 7,485 or 12.08% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they 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 81.3% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 16.25% of the population practiced traditional beliefs, and 1.93% 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 ...

. 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 66,758, of whom 33,273 were males and 33,485 were females; 8,596 or 12.88% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 312.5 square kilometers, Elu has an estimated population density of 213.6 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 152.8. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 47,148, of whom 23,741 were men and 23,407 women; 4,812 or 10.21% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Elu were the Oromo (94.46%), and the Amhara (4.88%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.66% 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 96.24%, and 3.53% 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 0.23% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed

, with 99.44% of the population reporting they practiced that belief.''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) Well, but it is out of date demography of the wereda (Kebede Lemu Bekelcha)

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Districts of Oromia Region