Dembidolo
Town in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
title: "Dembidolo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-the-oromia", "cities-and-towns-in-ethiopia"] description: "Town in Oromia Region, Ethiopia" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dembidolo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Town in Oromia Region, Ethiopia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Dembi Dollo |
| native_name | om |
| native_name_lang | om |
| settlement_type | Town |
| image_skyline | Working at the market in Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia.jpg |
| image_caption | Market of Dembi Dollo |
| pushpin_map | Ethiopia |
| pushpin_label_position | right |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location within Ethiopia |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Ethiopia |
| subdivision_type1 | Region |
| subdivision_name1 | Oromia |
| subdivision_type2 | Zone |
| subdivision_name2 | Kelam Welega |
| population_as_of | 2007 |
| population_total | 29,448 |
| timezone | EAT |
| utc_offset | +3 |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_m | 1701 |
| :: |
|official_name = Dembi Dollo |other_name = | native_name = om | native_name_lang = om |nickname = |settlement_type = Town |motto = |image_skyline = Working at the market in Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = Market of Dembi Dollo |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |city_logo = |citylogo_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |pushpin_map = Ethiopia |pushpin_label_position = right |pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ethiopia |pushpin_mapsize = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Ethiopia | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Oromia |subdivision_type2 = Zone |subdivision_name2 = Kelam Welega |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = |established_date2 = |established_title3 = |established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2007 |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total = 29,448 |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title = |population_blank1 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = EAT |utc_offset = +3 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 1701 |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type = |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = Dembidollo (), also spelled Dembi Dolo, is a market town and separate woreda in south-western Ethiopia. It is the capital of Kelam Welega Zone of the Oromia Region. This town, which is at an elevation of between 1701 m and 1827 m above sea level, was originally known as Sayo.
Dembidollo is known for goldsmith work and for tej production. The town is served by Dembidollo Airport (ICAO code HADD, IATA DEM).
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Saio_heights_in_Ethiopia.jpg" caption="Saïo heights, circa 1942"] ::
Originally known as Sayo, after the semi-autonomous kingdom that had ruled in this area in the years after 1900, by 1920 this town served as the seat of the governors of this part of south-western Ethiopia until the Italian conquest. Richard Pankhurst notes that during this period Dembidolo was "a great commercial centre for coffee, where by the 1930s perhaps 500,000 kilos of beans, besides large quantities of wax and skins, were exported every year to the Sudan." Emperor Iyasu V visited Dembidolo around 1912, and was welcomed by Dejazmach Jote.
By 1958 Dembi Dollo became one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as First Class Township. That same year, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia opened a branch in the town. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Etfronte.jpg" caption="Election in Dembi Dolo, June 1992"] ::
The last military action of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) before the demise of the Derg in 1991 occurred at Dembi Dollo, when some of its units reportedly killed more than 700 government soldiers.
A modern water supply system was expected to be completed in the town by October 2017.
Demographics
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Gambela,_Gobi,_and_Dembi_Dolo.jpg" caption="Gambela]], [[Goba]] and Dembidolo"] ::
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this town of 29,448, of whom 15,144 were men and 14,304 were women. The majority of the inhabitants were Protestants, with 58.23% reporting that as their religion, while 30.14% observed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 8.81% observed Islam, and 2.07% were Catholic.
The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 19,587 of whom 9,832 were males and 9,755 were females. It is the largest settlement in Sayo woreda.
Climate
|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Dembidolo, elevation 1850 m, (1971–2000) |Jan high C = 27.7 |Feb high C = 29.0 |Mar high C = 29.3 |Apr high C = 28.5 |May high C = 26.0 |Jun high C = 24.3 |Jul high C = 23.5 |Aug high C = 24.0 |Sep high C = 25.9 |Oct high C = 26.3 |Nov high C = 26.6 |Dec high C = 26.6 | year high C = |Jan low C = 14.6 |Feb low C = 15.3 |Mar low C = 16.1 |Apr low C = 16.1 |May low C = 15.5 |Jun low C = 14.7 |Jul low C = 14.4 |Aug low C = 14.4 |Sep low C = 14.6 |Oct low C = 14.5 |Nov low C = 14.6 |Dec low C = 14.9 | year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 7.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 28.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 70.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 129.0 |May precipitation mm = 197.0 |Jun precipitation mm = 170.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 165.0 |Aug precipitation mm = 120.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 163.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 96.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 31.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 19.0 |year precipitation mm = | Jan humidity = 58 | Feb humidity = 57 | Mar humidity = 60 | Apr humidity = 66 | May humidity = 78 | Jun humidity = 82 | Jul humidity = 83 | Aug humidity = 84 | Sep humidity = 78 | Oct humidity = 75 | Nov humidity = 69 | Dec humidity = 63 | year humidity = | source 1 = FAO{{cite web | url = https://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/climwat-for-cropwat/en/ | title = CLIMWAT climatic database | publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations | access-date = 21 June 2024}}
Notes
References
- Matt Philips. (2006). "Ethiopia and Eritrea". Lonely Planet.
- Donald Donham includes Sayo as one of the "strictly limited" number of local domains that were permitted a degree of independence in return for accepting the rule of Emperor [[Menelik II of Ethiopia. Menelik II]]. Donham, "The making of an imperial state" in ''The Southern Marches of Imperial Ethiopia'', Donald Donham and Wendy James, editors (Oxford: James Currey, 2002) p. 37
- Richard Pankhurst, ''Economic History of Ethiopia'' (Addis Ababa (Finfinne): Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 450
- [https://nai.uu.se/library/resources/thematic-resources/local-history-of-ethiopia.html "Local History of Ethiopia"] {{Webarchive. link. (13 June 2022 The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 2022 April 2022).)
- Afterwards, the OLF assumed civilian control of Dembi Dollo and its surrounding territory. However, when the OLF found that their efforts to field candidates in the rest of the Oromia region were frustrated by the [[Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization]] the OLF withdrew from the government in 1992. This proved to be a disaster for the OLF, as EPRDF forces captured Dembi Dollo and forcibly drove the OLF membership into exile.[http://hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiopia0505/4.htm Political Competition in Oromia] {{Webarchive. link. (17 December 2005 , [[Human Rights Watch]]. Retrieved 17 March 2009)
- "Ministry Completes 1b Br Worth Water Projects".
- link. (13 November 2011 , Tables 2.1, 2.5, 3.4 .. Retrieved 13 January 2012)
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