Wukro (woreda)

Kilte Awulaelo (Ge'ez: ክልተ ኣውላዕሎ) is one of the woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Kilte Awulaelo is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone, on the northeast by Hawzen, on the north by Saesi Tsaedaemba, and on the east by Atsbi Wenberta. Towns in the Kilte Awulaelo woreda include Agula, Tsigereda and Maymagden. Town of Wukro is surrounded by Kilte Awulaelo.

Archeological surveys at the village of Aynalem has recovered Sabaean inscriptions, an obelisk carved from stone, rocks shaped to resemble Egyptian pyramids, and ancient metal utensils in an area which has been left uncultivated due to religious beliefs. Gezaei Haile, a scientist and geology instructor at Mekelle University, in an interview with Jimma Times dated these artifacts to "a time of 200 years before birth of Christ, as none of the antiquities have sign of cross on them." There are several local monolithic churches in this woreda. These include Wukro Chirkos (at the edge of Wukro town), Abreha we Atsbeha, and Minda'e Mikael. The village of Negash, widely believed to be the first Muslim settlement in Africa, is also an important local landmark.

Wukro was one of nine woredas in Tigray most affected by a drought during 2008, requiring emergency food supplies to be requested for an estimated 600,000 people.

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 99,708, an increase of 16.53% over the 1994 census, of whom 48,645 are men and 51,063 women; 4,808 or 4.82% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 2,068.25 square kilometers, Wukro has a population density of 48.21, which is less than the Zone average of 56.93 persons per square kilometer. A total of 21,657 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.60 persons to a household, and 20,932 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 97.08% reporting that as their religion, while 2.8% of the population were Muslim.

...
Wikipedia