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 west by Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the north by Semien Gondar Zone and on the east by Mirab Gojjam. The administrative centre of Agew Awi is Injibara; other towns include Chagni, and Dangila.

Topographically speaking, Agaw Awi is relatively flat and fertile, whose elevations vary from 1,800 to 3,100 m above sea level, with an average altitude of about 2,300 m. The Zone is crossed by about nine permanent rivers which drain into the Abay (or Blue Nile); other water features include two crater lakes, Zengena and Tirba, and Zimbiri marsh which is located 5 km south-west of Addis Kidan. Local forests include Dukima and Apini, which are located on either side of the town of Kidamaja, Zengena forest around Lake Zengena and Goobil forest which is on a dome-shaped hill next to Kessa. The Agaw have traditionally practised a land-management system which is well adapted to the local ecology, which enable them to sustain the fertility of the soil and minimize erosion; this area is recognized as one of the most productive in the Amhara Region.

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this Zone has a total population of 982,942, an increase of 37.07% over the 1994 census, of whom 491,865 are men and 491,077 women. With an area of 9,148.43 square km, Agew Awi has a population density of 107.44; 123,014 or 12.51% are urban inhabitants. A total of 215,564 households were counted in this Zone, which results in an average of 4.56 persons to a household, and 209,555 housing units. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Agew Awi were the Awi (59.82%) a subgroup of the Agaw, and the Amhara (38.44%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.74% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 53.38%, and 45.04% spoke Awngi; the remaining 1.58% spoke all other primary languages reported. 94.4% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 4.5% of the population said they were Muslim.

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