Kofele (woreda)

Kofele is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center of the woreda, Kofele. Part of the Mirab Arsi Zone, Kofele is bordered on the south by the Kokosa, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, on the northwest by the Shashamene Zuria, on the north by Kore, on the east by Gedeb Asasa, and on the south east by Dodola. Other towns in Kofele include Wabe Gefersa.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 2000 to 3050 meters above sea level; Mount Duro is the highest point. Rivers include the 35 kilometers of the Anjelo, 30 kilometers of the Totalamo, and 35 kilometers of the Ashoka, all of which are tributaries of the Shebelle River. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 30% is arable or cultivable, 29% pasture, 2.9% forest, and the remaining 38.1% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Vegetables are an important cash crop; hides and skins are the primary export for Kofele.

Industry in the woreda includes 35 grain mills, one edible oil mill and one wood-working shop employing 103 people, as well as 991 registered businesses which include 162 wholesalers, 253 retailers and 576 service providers. There were 55 Farmers Associations with 21,083 members and 6 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 8466 members. Kofele has 12 kilometers of dry-weather and 65 of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 64.8 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 9.3% of the total population has access to drinking water.

Kofele is the birthplace of famous Ethiopian runner Gelete Burika.

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 178,950, of whom 89,729 were men and 89,221 were women; 15,448 or 8.63% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 94.32% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 2.88% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 1.94% of the population were Protestant.

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