Kalu (woreda)

Kalu (also known as Harbu) is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Wollo Zone, Kalu is bordered on the west by Dessie Zuria, on the north by Were Babu, and on the south and east by the Oromia Zone. The administrative center for this woreda is Harbu; other towns in Kalu include Ancharo, and Degaga.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 800 meters above sea level in the lowlands bordering the Oromia Zone to 1,750 meters at the foot of the mountains north of Kombolcha; the climate of Kalu varies from dry sub-humid to semi-arid. Important rivers include the Cheleleka and Borkana.[1] Forested area includes Yegof forest, 180 square kilometers of native trees and plantations of exotic species covering the steep slopes of Mount Yegof northeast of Kombolcha, which regenerated after the 1973-1974 famine.[2]

In 2002, a number of kebeles were taken from Kalu and Dessie Zuria to create the new woreda of Abuko.[3]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 186,181, an increase of 9.18% over the 1994 census, of whom 94,187 are men and 91,994 women; 19,810 or 10.64% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 851.54 square kilometers, Kalu has a population density of 218.64, which is greater than the Zone average of 147.58 persons per square kilometer. A total of 41,648 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.47 persons to a household, and 40,115 housing units.[4]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 170,523 in 34,681 households, of whom 85,326 were men and 85,197 were women; 9,897 or 5.8% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Kalu was the Amhara (99.24%). Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.27%. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 96.76% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 3.14% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ "Ethiopia: Coping with Climate Change" Global Environment Funding Proposal (dated 6 November 2006), p. 15. (last accessed 25 June 2007)
  2. ^ "Important Bird Area factsheet: Yegof forest, Ethiopia", BirdLife International website (accessed 2 September 2009)
  3. ^ Svein Ege, "South Shäwa 1:100,000. Topographic and administrative map of South Shäwa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia" (Trondheim, 2004), p. 4 (accessed 19 April 2009)
  4. ^ Census 2007 Tables: Amhara Region, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
  5. ^ 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)

Further reading

Current woredas
Abuko · Amba Sel · Debre Sina · Dessie · Dessie Zuria · Jama · Kalu · Kelala · Kombolcha · Kutaber · Legahida · Legambo · Magdala · Mehal Sayint · Sayint · Tehuledere · Tenta · Wegde · Were Babu · Were Ilu