Mekdela ( Amharic: መቅደላ) is a

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 ...

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 Wollo, Mekdela is bordered on the southwest by the Walo Shabatala River which separates it from

Sayint Sayint () is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named after the historical district of Amhara Sayint which was located in the same area. Part of the South Wollo Zone, Sayint is bordered on the south by Debre Sina and Mehal Sayint, on the ...

, on the west by

Semien Gondar Zone North Gondar ( Amharic: ሰሜን ጎንደር; or Semien Gondar) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century. Geography North Gondar is bordered on th ...

, 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, also known as the Blue Nile, the river originates just wes ...

which separates it from the

Semien Wollo Zone North Wollo ( Amharic: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. 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, a ...

, and on the east by Tenta. The major town in Mekdelais

Masha In Russian, Masha () is a diminutive of Maria. It has been used as a nickname or as a pet name for women named Maria or Marie. An alternative spelling in the Latin alphabet is "Macha". In Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, "Maša" is a diminutive of "Mar ...

. 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 Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

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 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, 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 ( 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 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%). Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.94%. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, 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