Kelala ( Amharic: ከለላ) 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

Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Re ...

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

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 Region, on the west by East Gojjam, ...

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

Walaqa River The Walaqa River is a tributary of the Blue Nile, is river in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Wegde is located to its north. Mida Woremo and Dera are to the south, while Kelala is to the northeast. The Walaqa River may have been the northern bound ...

which separates it from 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 Benis ...

, on the west by

Wegde Wegde ( Amharic: ወግዲ) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Wollo Zone, Wegde is bordered on the south by the Walaqa River which separates it from the Oromia Region, on the west by the Abay River which sep ...

, on the north by Legambo, on the northeast by

Legahida Legahida ( Amharic: ለገሂዳ) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Wollo Zone, Legahida is bordered on the south by Jama, on the west by Kelala, on the north by Legambo, and on the east by Were Ilu. Lega ...

, and on the east by

Jama ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') 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 biom ...

. 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 (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 growt ...

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, 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 ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chri ...

. 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. Amharic 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 Muslim, 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