Mecha (formerly known as Merawi) is a
woreda in
Amhara Region,
Ethiopia. The name, Mecha, is taken from the name for a subdivision of the province of
Gojjam. Part of the
Mirab Gojjam Zone, Mecha is bordered on the south by
Sekela, on the southwest by the
Agew Awi Zone, on the west by the
Lesser Abay River which separates it from
Debub Achefer
Debub Achefer or South Acheref, is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named for the historic district of Achefer, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, Achefer is bordered on the south and west by th ...
and
Semien Achefer
Semien Achefer (also known as North Achefer or Liben) is a Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named for the historic district of Achefer, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, Ac ...
, on the northeast by
Bahir Dar Zuria
Bahir Dar Zuria (Amharic ባሕር ዳር ዙሪያ "Greater Bahir Dar Area") is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, this woreda is bordered on the south by Yilmana Densa, on the southwest by Mecha, on the northwe ...
, and on the east by
Yilmana Densa
Yilmana Densa ( Amharic: ይልማና ዴንሳ "Yilma and Densa" formerly known as Adet) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, Yilmana Densa is bordered on the south by Kuarit, on the southwest by ...
. Towns in Mecha include
Merawi and
Wetet Abay.
Bodies of water in this woreda include
Tingiti, which is located in a volcanic crater near the Lesser Abay;
R.E. Cheesman
Major Robert Ernest Cheesman CBE (1878, Ashford, Kent – 13 February 1962) was an English military officer, explorer, ornithologist and author. He is noted for being one of the first to map the Arabian coast and credited with the discovery of a ...
believed he was the first European to see this body of water when he was shown it in November 1932.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the
Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 292,080, an increase of 36.55% over the 1994 census, of whom 147,611 are men and 144,469 women; 22,677 or 7.76% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,481.64 square kilometers, Mecha has a population density of 197.13, which is greater than the Zone average of 158.25 persons per square kilometer. A total of 66,107 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.42 persons to a household, and 64,206 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 98.91% reporting that as their religion.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 244,943 in 49,098 households, of whom 123,646 were men and 121,297 were women; 12,278 or 5.01% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Merawi was the
Amhara (99.91%).
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 ...
was spoken as a first language by 99.96%. The majority of the inhabitants practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 98.84% reporting that as their religion, while 1.09% 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 ...
.
''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:Merawi (Woreda)
Districts of Amhara Region