Bekoji is one of the 180 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 Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

 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 Arsi Zone

Arsi Zone

Arsi is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Arsi is also the name of a former province. Both the Zone and the former province are named after a subgroup of the Oromo, who inhabit both...

, Bekoji is bordered on the south by Gedeb

Gedeb

Gedeb is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Gedeb is bordered on the south by the Bale Zone, on the west by Kofele, and on the north and east by Bekoji...

, on the southwest by Kofele

Kofele (woreda)

Kofele is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center of the woreda, Kofele. Part of the Arsi Zone, Kofele is bordered on the south by the Bale Zone, on the southwest by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, on the...

, on the west by Munesa

Munesa

Munesa is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Munesa is bordered on the south by Kofele, on the west by the Mirab Shewa Zone and Lake Langano, on the northwest by Ziway Dugda, on the north by Tiyo, on the northeast by...

, on the north by Digeluna Tijo

Digeluna Tijo

Digeluna Tijo is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Digeluna Tijo is bordered on the south by Bekoji, on the southwest by Munesa, on the northwest by Tiyo, on the north by Hitosa, on the northeast by Tena, and on the east by Sherka...

, on the east by Sherka

Sherka

Sherka is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Research by Ulrich Braukämper uncovered a local tradition that traced the origins of this woreda's name to an ancient Ethiopian province, Sharka, which vanished as a political unit in the 16th century...

, and on the southeast by the Shebelle River

Shebelle River

The Shebelle River begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal...

 which separates it from the Bale Zone

Bale Zone

Bale is one of the 17 zones in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Bale is named for the former kingdom of Bale, which was in approximately the same area...

. The administrative center of this woreda is Bekoji

Bekoji

Bekoji is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2810 meters. It is the administrative center of Bekoji woreda....

; other towns include Lemu Sirba, Meraro

Meraro

Meraro is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region to the south of Bekoji, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 3,030 meters....

, Siltana and Sirbo.

Demographics

Based on figures published 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...

 in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 234,741, of whom 119,275 are men and 115,466 are women; 30,137 or 12.84% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,501.72 square kilometers, Bekoji has an estimated population density of 156.3 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 132.2.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 165,788, of whom 81,849 were men and 83,939 women; 16,876 or 10.18% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Bekoji were the Oromo

Oromo people

The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...

 (87.55%), and the Amhara

Amhara people

Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...

 (11.75%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.7% of the population. Oromiffa

Oromo language

Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...

 was spoken as a first language by 87.23%, and 12.57% spoke Amharic

Amharic language

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...

; the remaining 0.2% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 58.91% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 39.96% of the population said they were Muslim

Islam in Ethiopia

According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...

, and 1% were Protestant

P'ent'ay

P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...

.