Chilga

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Chilga (also Chelga, Ch'ilga, etc.; Ge'ez: ጭልጋ č̣ilgā) is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after its chief town Chilga (also known as Ayikel), an important stopping point on the historic Gondar-Sudan trade route. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Chilga is bordered on the south by Alefa, on the west by Metemma, on the north by Sanja, on the northeast by Lay Armachiho, and on the east by Dembiya. Other towns in Chilga include Seraba.

Elevations in this woreda range between 1000 and 1500 meters above sea level. Rivers include the Atbarah. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 21.7% is arable or cultivable, 1.9% pasture, 22.3% forest or shrubland, and the remaining 54.1% is considered degraded or other.^[1]

The economy of Metemma is predomantly agricultural. According to the Atlas of the Ethiopian Rural Economy published by the Central Statistical Agency (CSA), there are no agricultural cooperatives in this woreda. Estimated all-weather road density is reported to be between 10.1 and 20 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[2]

Based on figures published by the CSA in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 227,284, of whom 112,273 were males and 115,011 were females; 16,638 or 7.32% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 14.1%. With an estimated area of 3,180.91 square kilometers, Chilga has an estimated population density of 71.5 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 60.23.^[3] Although the Amhara people are the predominant ethnic group in this woreda, the Qemant, one of the Agaw people, are an important minority.

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