Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Dessie woreda has a total population of 151,174, of whom 72,932 are men and 78,242 women; 120,095 or 79.44% are urban inhabitants living in the town of Dessie, the rest of the population is living at rural kebeles around Dessie. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 58.62% reporting that as their religion, while 39.92% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and 1.15% were Protestants.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Dessie of 97,314 in 17,426 households, of whom 45,337 were men and 51,977 were women. The two largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Amhara (92.83%), and the Tigrayan (4.49%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.68% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 94.89%, and 3.79% spoke Tigrinya; the remaining 0.67% spoke all other primary languages reported. 61% of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with less than 39% of the population having reported they practiced Islam.
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