Damot Weyde

Damot Weyde is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Wolayita Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Damot Weyde is bordered on the south by Humbo, on the west by Sodo Zuria, on the northwest by Damot Gale, on the north by the Hadiya Zone, on the northeast by the Oromia Region, and on the east by the Bilate River which separates it from the Sidama Zone. The administrative center of this woreda is Bedesa; other towns in Damot Weyde include Dimtu.

Damot Weyde has 58 kilometers of all-weather roads and 90 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 191 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[1]

Prior to the Ethiopian 2005 General Elections, Amnesty International reports that two activists for the Coalition for Unity and Democracy were arrested while campaigning in this woreda towards the end of February 2005. Amnesty International included this incident as part of a series of government intimidation of opposition party activists.^[2]

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 212,341, of whom 107,281 are men and 105,060 are women; 6,885 or 3.24% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.5%. With an estimated area of 783.44 square kilometers, Damot Weyde has an estimated population density of 271 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 156.5.^[3]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 149,650 of whom 74,067 were men and 75,583 were women; 3,800 or 2.54% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Damot Weyde was the Welayta (98.65%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.35% of the population. Welayta was the dominant first language, spoken by 98.81% of the inhabitants; the remaining 1.19% spoke all other primary languages reported. Concerning religious beliefs, the 1994 census reported that 63.73% of the population said they were Protestants, 26.86% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 4.17% were Roman Catholic, and 3.36% were Muslim.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ " Detailed statistics on roads", SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development website (accessed 3 September 2009)
2. ^ "Ethiopia: The 15 May 2005 elections and human rights - recommendations to the government, election observers and political parties", Amnesty International website, Report AFR 25/002/2005 (accessed 20 May 2009)
3. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables B.3 and B.4
4. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.15, 2.19 (accessed 30 December 2008)

Coordinates: 6°50′N 38°00′E / 6.833°N 38°E / 6.833; 38