Dabat is one of the 105 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 Amhara Region

Amhara Region

Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....

 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 Semien Gondar Zone

Semien Gondar Zone

Semien Gondar is a Zone in the Ethiopian Amhara Region. This Zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century, which has often been used as a name for the 20th century province of Begemder....

, Dabat is bordered on the south by Wegera

Wegera (woreda)

Wegera or Wogera is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Wegera is named for the former province Wegera, which was located roughly in the same location, and was later made part of the province of Semien...

, on the west by Sanja

Sanja (woreda)

Sanja is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Sanja is bordered on the south by Chilga, on the southwest by Metemma, on the west by Sudan, on the north by the Tigray Region, on the northeast by Debarq, on the east by Dabat, and on the southeast by...

, and on the northeast by Debarq

Debarq (woreda)

Debarq is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after its largest town, Debarq. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Debarq is bordered on the south by Dabat, on the west by Sanja, on the northwest by the Tigray Region, on the north by Addi Arkay, and on the east by Jan...

. Towns in Dabat include Dabat

Dabat

Dabat is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located on the Semien Mountains along the Gondar-Debarq highway it is in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region. Dabat is one of two towns in Dabat woreda.There is a state run health centre in Dabat....

 and Wekin.

The highest peak in Dabat is also the highest peak in Ethiopia: Mount Ras Dashan. It is a member of the Semien Mountains

Semien Mountains

The Semien Mountains lie in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Semien Mountains National Park. The mountains consist of plateaux separated by valleys and rising to pinnacles...

, which cover most of this woreda. Due to its inaccessibility and the lack of the most basic infrastructure, in 1999 the Regional government classified Dabat as one of its 47 drought prone and food insecure woredas. Both Dabat and Wekin lie on the Gondar

Gondar

Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...

-Debarq

Debarq

Debarq is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located 90 kilometers north of Gondar on the paved highway between Gondar and Axum and in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2850 meters above sea level.Debarq is the closest town to the Semien...

 highway.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national 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 145,509, an increase of 22.72% over the 1994 census, of whom 73,852 are men and 71,657 women; 15,821 or 10.87% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,187.93 square kilometers, Dabat has a population density of 122.49, which is greater than the Zone average of 63.76 persons per square kilometer. A total of 31,111 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.68 persons to a household, and 30,293 housing units.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 118,566 in 21,599 households, of whom 60,020 were men and 58,546 women; 10,991 or 9.27% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The largest ethnic group reported in Dabat was 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...

 (99.44%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.56% of the population. 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...

 was spoken as a first language by 99.59%; the remaining 0.41% spoke all other primary languages reported. 97.13% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 2.79% 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...

.