Bati (woreda)

Bati (Oromo: Baati; Amharic: ባቲ) is a district in the Oromia Zone of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Bati is bordered on the south by Dawa Harewa, on the southeast by the Argobba special woreda, on the west and north by the Debub Wollo Zone, and on the east by the Afar Region. Towns in this woreda include its administrative center, the market town of Bati. The towns of Degan and Gerba were administratively part of Bati before the 2007 census but was then transferred to Kalu woreda.

A notable landmark of this woreda is the Aneba forest. These 53 hectares of woodland are one of the few remaining stands of Afrocarpus gracilior, an indigenous tree locally known as Zegba, in Ethiopia. At least one tree in this woodland, known as Aliyaw, is 700 years old.^[1]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 107,387, of whom 53,731 are men and 53,656 women; 16,710 or 15.56% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,132.16 square kilometers, Bati has a population density of 94.85, which is less than the Zone average of 131.78 persons per square kilometer. A total of 23,417 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.59 persons to a household, and 22,531 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 96.06% reporting that as their religion, while 2.99% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.^[2]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 144,904 in 27,384 households, of whom 72,487 were men and 72,417 were women; 19,352 or 13.36% of its population were urban dwellers. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Bati were the Amhara (49.72%), and the Oromo (48.98%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.3% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 51.08%, and 48.25% spoke Oromiffa; the remaining 0.67% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 97.96% reporting that as their religion, while 1.99% observed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.^[3]

Notes

1. "Awliyaw: the Largest and Oldest Tree in Ethiopia?" by Dr. Alula Pankhurst (Addis Tribune, last accessed 26 October 2007)
2. Census 2007 Tables: Amhara Region Archived November 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
3. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region, Vol. 1, part 1 Archived November 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2 (accessed 9 April 2009)

11°20′N 39°50′E