Mehakelegnaw Zone
Mehakelegnaw (or "The central [Zone]") is a Zone in the
Ethiopian Region of
Tigray. Mehakelegnaw is bordered on the east by
Misraqawi (Eastern), on the south by
Debubawi (Southern), on the west by
Mirabawi (Western) and on the north by
Eritrea. Towns and cities in Mehakelegnaw include
Adigrat,
Axum,
Adwa, and
Maychew.
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this zone has an estimated total population of 1,283,388, of which 630,140 were males and 653,248 were females. With an estimated area of 10,353.50 square kilometers, Mehakelegnaw has an estimated population density of 123.96 people per square kilometer.
[CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.3]According to a May 24, 2004
World Bank memorandum, 13% of the inhabitants of Mehakelegnaw have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 29.0 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 0.8 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and a regional average of 0.51)
[Comparative national and regional figures comes from another World Bank publication, Klaus Deininger et al. "Tenure Security and Land Related Investment", WP-2991 (accessed 23 March 2006).] and the equivalent of 0.8 heads of livestock. 17% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and a regional average of 28%. 74% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and 28% in secondary schools. 78% of the zone is exposed to
malaria, and none to
Tsetse fly. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 616.
[World Bank, Four Ethiopias: A Regional Characterization (accessed 23 March 2006).]
