Merhabete (

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 ...

: መርሐ ቤቴ) 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 Reg ...

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 Semien Shewa Zone, Merhabete is bordered on the south by Ensaro, on the west by 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 ...

, on the north by

Mida Woremo Mida Woremo ( Amharic: ሚዳ ወረሞ) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Shewa Zone, Mida Woremo is bordered on the south by the Qechene River which separates it from Merhabiete, on the west by the Oromi ...

, on the east by

Menz Keya Gebreal Menz Keya Gebreal (Amharic: መንዝ ቀያ ጋሪኤል) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone, Menz Keya Gebreal is bordered on the southeast by Menz Lalo Midir, on the southwest by the Jamma ...

, and on the southeast by

Moretna Jiru Moretna Jeru ( Amharic ሞረትና ጅሩ "Moret and Jeru") is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named in part after the historic district of Shewa, Moret, which lay between the Jamma River and the district of Shewa Med ...

. The

Jamma River The Jamma River (Amharic: ጃማ) is a river in central Ethiopia and a tributary to the Abay (or Blue Nile). It drains parts of the Semien Shewa Zones of the Amhara and Oromia Regions. The Upper Jamma flows through steep, deep canyons cut firs ...

defines this woreda's southern and eastern boundaries, and its tributary the Qechene defines its western and northern. The administrative center is

Alem Ketema Alem Ketema ( Amharic: ዓለም ከተማ) is a town in North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is the administrative centre of Merhabete woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third leve ...

; other towns in this woreda include Fetira. This woreda is named after the former province,

Marra Biete Marra Biete (Amharic: መራ ቤቴ) is a former province of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, north of Shewa Meda. According to Johann Ludwig Krapf, Marra Biete lay in the northwest p ...

, whose territory included the area this woreda is located. Merhabiete was originally named Lay Betna Tach Bet (

"The Upper House and Lower House"), the name used in the 1994 national census, but it was changed before the Ethiopian Agricultural Sample Survey in October 2001, which used the present name.

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 growth ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 126,501, an increase of 27.87% over the 1994 census, of whom 63,997 are men and 62,504 women; 13,113 or 10.37% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,058.19 square kilometers, Merhabete has a population density of 119.54, which is greater than the Zone average of 115.3 persons per square kilometer. A total of 29,916 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.23 persons to a household, and 29,075 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants 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 Chris ...

, with 99.63% reporting that as their religion. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 98,930 in 20,161 households, of whom 50,184 were men and 48,746 were women; 8,977 or 9.07% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Merhabete was the Amhara (99.78%), and

was spoken as a first language by 99.8%. The majority of the inhabitants practiced

, with 99.87% reporting that as their religion.''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 the Amhara Region Districts of Amhara Region