Merawi is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, Merawi is bordered on the south by Sekela, on the west by the Agew Awi Zone, on the northwest by the Lesser Abay River which separates it from Achefer, on the northeast by Bahir Dar Zuria, and on the east by Adet. Towns in Merawi include Merawi and Wetet Abay.
Merawi appears to have been renamed Mecha between 2001 and 2007, for the 2007 national census refers to this woreda by that name. The new name, Mecha, is taken from the name for a subdivision of the province of Gojjam.
Bodies of water in this woreda include Tingiti, which is located in a volcanic crater near the Lesser Abay; R.E. Cheesman believed he was the first European to see this body of water when he was shown it in November 1932.[1]
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.[2]
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 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.[3]
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