Kombolcha
Encyclopedia
Kombolcha is a city and woreda
in north-central Ethiopia
. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone
of the Amhara Region
, it has a latitude and longitude of 11°5′N 39°44′E with an elevation between 1842 and 1915 meters above sea level. Some guide books describe Kombolcha as the twin city of Dessie
which lies some 13 km to the Northwest.
This city shares Combolcha Airport
(ICAO code HADC, IATA DSE) with neighbouring Dessie. It is also home to Kombolcha Steel products, a metalworking factory that is part of MIDROC, a conglomerate owned by businessman Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi
. Another industry in this town is the Kombolcha Textile Factory (KTF), which announced 9 March 2009 that it was beginning a 190 million Birr
modernization project to improve the quality of its projects. At the time of the announcement, the KTF exported its goods to Italy, Sweden, Belgium and China.
When the missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf
was led as a prisoner from Adare Bille's capital to the Teledere House of the Wollo Oromo in April 1843 he passed Kombolcha, which he described as a village near the source of the Borkana River
.
Kombolcha was described during the Italian occupation
as having postal and telephone service, a clinic, a spaccio ("tobacco shop"), barrack village of the A.A.S.S. as well as other improvements intended for Italians.
Kombolcha was used as a base by the United Nations
relief organization and other humanitarian groups during the 1984 famine. On 19 November 1989 the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
(TPLF) claimed to have captured Kombolcha. However, the highway from Kombolcha to Assab
was not fully brought under TPLF control until the Derg
was expelled from Tigray
later that year.
in 2005, Kombolcha has an estimated total population of 68,766 of whom 36,102 are men and 32,664 are women. The woreda has an estimated area of 8.66 square kilometers, which gives Kombolcha a density of 7,940.60 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Kombolcha of 39,466 in 8,643 households, of whom 18,995 were men and 20,471 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Amhara
(41.34%), Tigrayan
(15.85%), and the Oromo
(45.29%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.52% of the population. Amharic
was spoken as a first language by 93.02%, 5.2% Tigrinya
, and 1.11% spoke Oromiffa
; the remaining 0.67% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim
, with 57.42% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 41.71% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.
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...
in north-central 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...
. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone
Debub Wollo Zone
Debub Wollo is one of 10 Zones in the Ethiopian Amhara Region. It acquired its name from the former province of Wollo.Debub Wollo is bordered on the south by Semien Shewa and the Oromia Region, on the west by Mirab Gojjam, on the northwest by Debub Gondar, on the north by Semien Wollo and on the...
of 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....
, it has a latitude and longitude of 11°5′N 39°44′E with an elevation between 1842 and 1915 meters above sea level. Some guide books describe Kombolcha as the twin city of Dessie
Dessie
Dessie is a city and a woreda in north-central Ethiopia. Located on the Addis Ababa - Asmara highway in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 meters above sea level.Dessie has postal service , and telephone...
which lies some 13 km to the Northwest.
This city shares Combolcha Airport
Combolcha Airport
Kombolcha Airport is an airport located between the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha in Ethiopia. Located at an elevation of 1864 meters above sea level, this airport has one unpaved runway 1098 meters long.-Accidents and incidents:...
(ICAO code HADC, IATA DSE) with neighbouring Dessie. It is also home to Kombolcha Steel products, a metalworking factory that is part of MIDROC, a conglomerate owned by businessman Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi
Mohammed Al Amoudi
Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi (Ge'ez: ሞሓመድ አልአሙዲ, Arabic: محمد حسين العمودي; is a Saudi Arabian/Ethiopian businessman and billionaire who lives in Ethiopia and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As of 2011, his net worth has...
. Another industry in this town is the Kombolcha Textile Factory (KTF), which announced 9 March 2009 that it was beginning a 190 million Birr
Ethiopian birr
The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well....
modernization project to improve the quality of its projects. At the time of the announcement, the KTF exported its goods to Italy, Sweden, Belgium and China.
History
Tadesse Tamrat records that archeologists discovered "some remains of Christian settlements", dated to the late first millennium of the current era.When the missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf
Johann Ludwig Krapf
Johann Ludwig Krapf was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro...
was led as a prisoner from Adare Bille's capital to the Teledere House of the Wollo Oromo in April 1843 he passed Kombolcha, which he described as a village near the source of the Borkana River
Borkana River
Borkana River is a river of central Ethiopia. A tributary of the Awash on the left side, the Borkana joins its parent stream at . Johann Ludwig Krapf records that it was called "Tshaffa" by the local Oromo people....
.
Kombolcha was described during the Italian occupation
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
as having postal and telephone service, a clinic, a spaccio ("tobacco shop"), barrack village of the A.A.S.S. as well as other improvements intended for Italians.
Kombolcha was used as a base by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
relief organization and other humanitarian groups during the 1984 famine. On 19 November 1989 the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front , known more commonly and sometimes pejoratively in Ethiopia as Woyane or Weyane is a political party in Ethiopia...
(TPLF) claimed to have captured Kombolcha. However, the highway from Kombolcha to Assab
Assab
Assab is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. In 1989, it had a population of 39,600. Assab possesses an oil refinery, which was shut down in 1997 for economic reasons...
was not fully brought under TPLF control until the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
was expelled from Tigray
Tigray Region
Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...
later that year.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral 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...
in 2005, Kombolcha has an estimated total population of 68,766 of whom 36,102 are men and 32,664 are women. The woreda has an estimated area of 8.66 square kilometers, which gives Kombolcha a density of 7,940.60 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Kombolcha of 39,466 in 8,643 households, of whom 18,995 were men and 20,471 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were 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...
(41.34%), Tigrayan
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
(15.85%), and the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(45.29%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.52% 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 93.02%, 5.2% Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
, and 1.11% spoke Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
; the remaining 0.67% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants 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...
, with 57.42% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 41.71% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.