Mekelle

Mekelle
መቐለ
ሰሜናዊት ኮኾብ Mak'allè, Mekele, mäqälle, mek’elē
Capital city and special zone
From top, left to right: Central Mekelle; Hawzen Square; Tekele Haymanot Church; Emperor Yohannes IV Palace Museum; Meskel cross at Chom’a hill; Martyrs' Memorial Monument
Nickname: 
The Northern Star(ሰሜናዊት ኮኾብ)
Mekelle special zone
Mekelle special zone
Mekelle is located in Ethiopia
Mekelle
Mekelle
Location within Ethiopia
Mekelle is located in Horn of Africa
Mekelle
Mekelle
Location within the Horn of Africa
Mekelle is located in Africa
Mekelle
Mekelle
Location within Africa
Coordinates: 13°29′49″N 39°28′37″E / 13.49694°N 39.47694°E / 13.49694; 39.47694
Country Ethiopia
RegionTigray
ZoneMekelle Special Zone
Government
 • Mayor(vacant as of 30 March 2021[1])
Elevation
2,254 m (7,395 ft)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total
525,475
 • Estimate 
(2023)[3]
545,635
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
Area code(+251) 14
ClimateHot semi-arid

Mekelle (Tigrinya: መቐለ), or Mek'ele, is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray.[4] It is located around 780 kilometres (480 mi) north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. It is the economic, cultural, and political hub of northern Ethiopia.

Mekelle has grown rapidly since 1991 with a population of 61,000 in 1984, 97,000 inhabitants in 1994 (96.5% being Tigrinya-speakers), and 170,000 in 2006 (i.e. 4% of the population of Tigray). Mekelle is the second-largest city in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa, with a population of around 545,000.[5] It is 4 times larger than Adigrat, the second-largest regional center. The majority of the population of Mekelle depends on government employment, commerce, and small-scale enterprises. In 2007, Mekelle had new engineering, cement, and textile factories, producing for the local and foreign markets. Mekelle University developed out of the pre-1991 Arid Agricultural College, and about a dozen other governmental and private colleges were created.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AddisStand_Ataklti_resigns was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSA 2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Population Size by Sex, Zone and Wereda, July 2022" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b Aberra, Yohannes (2007). "Mäqälä". In Uhlig, Siegbert (ed.). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  5. ^ Mekelle Population 2021. "World Population Review". World Population review.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)