Achefer
Encyclopedia
Achefer is one of the 105 woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

s in the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....

 of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. It is named for the historic district of Achefer, which was first mentioned in the 16th century. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone
Mirab Gojjam Zone
Mirab Gojjam is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Mirab Gojjam is named after the former province of Gojjam was divided in to two administrative zones by EPRDF...

, Achefer is bordered on the south by the Agew Awi Zone
Agew Awi Zone
Agew Awi is one of 10 Zones in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Agew Awi is named for the Awi sub-group of the Agaw people, some of whom live in this Zone. Agew Awi is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the north-west by Semien Gondar Zone and on...

, on the west by the Semien Gondar Zone
Semien Gondar Zone
Semien Gondar is a Zone in the Ethiopian Amhara Region. This Zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century, which has often been used as a name for the 20th century province of Begemder....

, on the north by Lake Tana
Lake Tana
Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia...

, on the northeast by Bahir Dar Zuria
Bahir Dar Zuria
Bahir Dar Zuria is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Gojjam Zone, this woreda is bordered on the south by Adet, on the southwest by Merawi, on the northwest by the Lesser Abay River which separates it from Achefer, on the north by Lake Tana, on the...

, and on the southeast by Merawi
Merawi (woreda)
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...

; the Lesser Abay River defines the woreda's eastern boundary. The woreda includes Dek Island
Dek Island
Dek Island is the biggest island on Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It is administratively included in the Bahir Dar Zuria woreda of the Mirab Gojjam Zone. To the southeast of Dek is the much smaller Daga Island.- Overview :It is home to several monasteries, the best known being Narga Selassie...

. The administrative center is Yesmala
Yesmala
Yesmala is a town in western Ethiopia. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Tana in the Mirab Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2072 meters above sea level...

; other towns in Achefer include Durbete, Kunzela and Wandege.

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency
Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency 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, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 326,195, of whom 160,763 are men and 165,432 are women; 24,565 or 7.53% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 7.6%. With an estimated area of 2,515.64 square kilometers, Achefer has an estimated population density of 129.7 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 174.47.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 238,255 in 45,400 households, of whom 121,895 were men and 116,360 were women; 14,197 or 5.96% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Achefer was the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...

 (99.77%). Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...

 was spoken as a first language by 99.86%. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 98.77% reporting that as their religion, while 1.18% were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...

.
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