Haro Maya (or Alemaya) is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center, Haro Maya. Part of the Misraq (East) Hararghe Zone, Haro Maya is bordered on the south by Kurfa Chele, on the west by Kersa, on the north by Dire Dawa, on the east by Kombolcha, and on the southeast by the Harari Region. Towns include Alemaya and Bati.
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Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1400 to 2340 meters above sea level; the highest points include Dof and Jeldo. The major river is the Amaresa; bodies of water include Lake Alemaya. A survey of the land in Haro Maya (released in 1995/96) shows that 36.1% is arable or cultivable, 2.3% pasture, 1.5% forest, and the remaining 60.1% is considered built-up, degraded or otherwise unusable. Khat, vegetables and fruits are important cash crops. Both Kombolcha and Haro Maya are major producers of vegetables for Djibouti.
An important local landmark is Haramaya University. G.W.B. Huntingford reports that two inscribed Islamic gravestones have been found near Bati which can be dated to AD 1000, and two more bear dates, one to A.H. 662 (AD 1263) and the other to A.H. 666 (AD 1267-1268). These indicate an early Muslim presence in the area
Industry in the woreda includes 34 grain mills and 2 metal works employing 100 people, as well as 485 registered businesses including wholesalers, retailers and service providers. There were 33 Farmers Associations with 34,422 members and 5 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 331 members. Haro Maya has 35 kilometers of gravel and 83 of dry-weather road, for an average road density of 214.5 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 9.2% of the rural and 17% of the urban population have access to drinking water.
Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 271,018, of whom 138,282 were men and 132,736 were women; 50,032 or 18.46% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 96.66% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 2.7% of the population practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 236,601, of whom 116,466 are men and 120,135 are women; 33,263 or 14.06% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 6.9%. With an estimated area of 550 square kilometers, Haro Maya has an estimated population density of 430.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 102.6.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 166,597, of whom 84,737 were men and 81,860 women; 18,582 or 11.15% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of one rural kebele, which was not counted; it was estimated to have 19,337 inhabitants, of whom 9,571 were men and 9,766 women.) The two largest ethnic groups reported in Haro Maya were the Oromo (96.04%), and the Amhara (3.12%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.84% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 95.82%, and 3.62% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.56% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 95.82% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 3.71% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.