Cherti (woreda)

Cherti (also spelled Chereti) or Weyib is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Cherti. Part of the Afder Zone, Cherti is bordered on the southwest by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from the Liben Zone, on the west by Goro Bekeksa, on the north by Elekere, on the east by Afder, and on the southeast by Dolobay.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 750 to 1700 meters above sea level. Other rivers in Cherti include the Mena and the Weyib. As of 2008, Cherti has 62 kilometers of all-weather gravel road and 440 kilometers of community roads; about 8.69% of the total population has access to drinking water.

Flooding was reported in Chereti during May 2006, which destroyed nine villages and displaced more than 870 households. More than 4,500 shoats were also reported drowned by the flooding.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 94,295, of whom 53,341 are men and 40,954 women. While 5,152 or 5.46% are urban inhabitants, a further 53,715 or 56.97% are pastoralists. 99.3% of the population said they were Muslim. This woreda is primarily inhabited by the Gaadsan and Hawiye clans of the Somali people.

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 65,853, of whom 36,517 were men and 29,336 were women; 5,967 or 9.06% of its population were urban dwellers. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Cherti were the Somali people (98.52%) and the Sidama (1.4%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.08% of the population.