Wegera or Wogera (
Amharic: ወገራ), 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 ...
in
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 ...
. Wegera is named for the former province Wegera, which was located roughly in the same location, and was later made part of the province of
Semien. Part of the
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 ...
, Wegera is bordered on the south by
Mirab Belessa Mirab Belessa or West Belessa is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Belessa, which lay in the same area.
Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Mirab Belessa is bordered on the south by Debub Gonda ...
, on the southwest by
Gondar Zuria
Gondar Zuria ( Amharic: ጎንደር ዙሪያ, lit. "Greater Gondar Area") is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, ''Gondar Zuria'' is bordered on the south by the Debub Gondar Zone, on the southwest by Lake Tan ...
, on the west by
Lay Armachiho
Lay Armachiho ( am, ላይ አርማጭሆ, lāy ārmāčihō, lit=Upper Armachiho) is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. This woreda is named after "Armachiho", a province in northwestern Ethiopia along the border with Sudan and south of the ...
, on the northwest by
Tach Armachiho
Tach Armachiho ( am, ታች አርማጭሆ) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This woreda is named after "Armachiho", a province in northwestern Ethiopia along the border with Sudan and south of the Tekezé River. Part of th ...
, on the north by
Dabat
Dabat ( Amharic: ዳባት) is a town in northern Ethiopia, located about 50 kilometers north of Gondar in the Semien Mountains along the Gondar-Debarq highway Dabat it is in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, and is one of two towns in ...
, on the northeast by
Jan Amora
Jan Amora (Amharic: ጃን አሞራ ''jān āmōrā'', "Royal eagle") is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Jan Amora is bordered on the south by Misraq Belessa, on the southwest by Wegera, on t ...
, and on the southeast by
Misraq Belessa Misraq Belessa ( Amharic: ምስራቅ በለሳ) transliterated as "East Belessa" is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the former province of Belessa, which lay in the
same area. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, ...
. Towns in Wegera include
Amba Giyorgis and
Gedegbe.
Due to its inaccessibility and the lack of the most basic infrastructure, in 1999 the Regional government classified Wegera as one of its 47 drought prone and food insecure woredas.
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 220,566, an increase of 20.14% over the 1994 census, of whom 112,445 are men and 108,121 women; 18,664 or 8.46% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,851.52 square kilometers, Wegera has a population density of 119.13, which is greater than the Zone average of 63.76 persons per square kilometer. A total of 46,731 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.72 persons to a household, and 45,394 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 Chri ...
, with 97.5% reporting that as their religion, while 2.5% of the population said they were
Muslim.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 183,589 in 35,155 households, of whom 93,991 were men and 89,598 women; 8,410 or 4.58% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Wegera were the
Amhara (90.48%), and the
Qemant
The Qemant (also known as western Agaws) are a small ethnic group in northwestern Ethiopia specifically in Gondar, Amhara Region. The Qemant people traditionally practiced an early Pagan-Hebraic religion, however most members of the Qemant are ...
(9.24%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.28% of the population.
Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.74%; the remaining 0.26% spoke all other primary languages reported. 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 Chri ...
with 97.19% practicing that belief, while 2.76% of the population said they were
Muslim.
''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:Wegera (Woreda)
Districts of Amhara Region