Yirgachefe (woreda)

Yirgachefe (also transliterated Irgachefe) is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town Yirgachefe. Part of the Gedeo Zone, Yirgachefe is bordered on the south by Kochere, on the west by the Oromia Zone, on the north by Wenago, and on the east by Bule.

This woreda covers part of the homeland of the Gedeo people. Coffee is an important cash crop; Esayas Kebede, head of coffee development at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported over 600 square kilometers are planted with it, and are expected to produce 30,000 tonnes of coffee beans in the 2007/2008 season. [ [http://africa.reuters.com/country/ET/news/usnL12556867.html "Ethiopia: Yirgachefe eyes 30,000 tonnes of coffee"] (Reuters; accessed 13 December 2007)]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 198,181, of whom 98,975 were males and 99,206 were females; 20,979 or 10.59% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 14.4%. With an estimated area of 301.1 square kilometers, Yirgachefe has an estimated population density of 658.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 617.5. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4]

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