Abala is one of the 29 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

s in the Afar Region

Afar Region

Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

 of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Part of the Administrative Zone 2

Administrative Zone 2 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 2 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by Administrative Zone 4, on the southwest by Administrative Zone 1, on the west by the Amhara Region, and on the northeast by Eritrea. The administrative center of Zone 2 is Abala...

, Abala is located at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands

Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...

, and bordered on the south by Megale

Megale

Megale is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 2, Megale is located at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands, and bordered on the south by the Administrative Zone 4, on the west by the Tigray Region, on the north by Abala, and...

, on the west by the Tigray Region

Tigray Region

Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...

, on the north by Berhale, on the northeast by Afdera

Afdera

Afdera is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the saline Lake Afdera, located in the southern part of the Afar Depression...

, and on the east by Erebti

Erebti

Erebti is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the Erebti River, a stream that flows east from the Ethiopian highlands into the Afar Depression, part of which lies in the eastern part of this woreda...

. The major town in Abala is Abala

Abala, Ethiopia

Abala is a town in northeastern Ethiopia. The administrative center of Zone 2 of the Afar Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1482 meters above sea level....

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Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 37,963, of whom 20,486 are men and 17,477 women; with an area of 1,188.72 square kilometers, Abala has a population density of 31.94. While 10,301 or 27.13% are urban inhabitants, a further 5,552 or 14.62% are pastoralists. A total of 6,703 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 5.7 persons to a household, and 6,855 housing units. The predominant ethnic group in this woreda are the Afar

Afar people

The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...

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