Ofla ኦፍላ | |
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| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Region |  Tigray |
| Zone | Debubawi (Southern) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,019.76 km2 (393.73 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
• Total | 126,889 |
Ofla (Tigrinya:ኦፍላ) is one of theDistricts of Ethiopia, orworedas, in theTigray Region ofEthiopia. Part of theDebubawi Zone, Ofla is bordered on the south byAlamata, on the west by theAmhara Region, on the north byEndamehoni, and on the east byRaya Azebo. Small towns in Ofla includezata,Sesela andZikuya. The town ofKorem is surrounded by Ofla woreda.
Within the boundaries of this woreda isLake Ashenge, whereChristopher da Gama was defeated in theBattle of Wofla in 1543, and afterwards captured then killed byImamAhmad Gragn. Wofla was briefly governed byAbu Bakr Qatin ofAdal in the sixteenth century.[1]
Another local landmark isHugumburda State Forest, which contains the highest portion of an extensive area of indigenous coniferous forest.[2]
Construction began by March 2009 on six health stations in this woreda which would extend health service coverage to sixkebeles and benefit 150,000 inhabitants in and near the woreda. The budget for this construction, set at seven millionBirr, was provided by the Ethiopian Federal government and the woreda administration.[3]
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by theCentral Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 126,889, an increase of 17.94% over the 1994 census, of whom 62,278 are men and 64,611 women; no urban inhabitants were reported. With an area of 1,019.76 square kilometers, Ofla has a population density of 124.43, which is greater than the Zone average of 53.91 persons per square kilometer. A total of 29,571 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.29 persons to a household, and 28,717 housing units. 96.6% of the population said they wereOrthodox Christians, and 3.38% wereMuslim.[4]
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 124,484, of whom 60,735 were men and 63,749 were women; 17,152 or 13.78% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Ofla were theTigrayan (89.2%), theAgawKamyr (7.27%), and theAmhara (3.46%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.07% of the population.Tigrinya was spoken as a first language by 88.07%, 6.94%Kamyr, and 1.36% spokeAmharic; the remaining 3.63% spoke all other primary languages reported.
88.57% of the population practicedEthiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 11.43% wereMuslim. Concerningeducation, 9.11% of the population were considered literate, which is less than the Zone average of 15.71%; 11.43% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 3.85% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; 1.92% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerningsanitary conditions, about 63.5% of the urban houses and 12% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; about 27% of the urban and 6% of the total had toilet facilities.[5]
In 2020 woreda Ofla became inoperative and its territory belongs to the following new woredas: