Āfdem

History

The time of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, the steam engines were Littorina replaced locomotives, which shortened the travel time between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa from two days to one day. The trains stopped now about noon on Awash, and the station Afdem therefore lost in importance. In 1984 the village had 805 inhabitants. Āfdem was given an important boost with the arrival of the railway. By the early 1930s, the town had an important railway station because trains traveling both directions would pass each other there. Town amenities included a telegraph station and a good restaurant with some hotel rooms. By 1962, Āfdem was located on a dry-weather that ran from Mieso to Gota.

Climate

Āfdem features a Semi arid but is influenced by the highland that are close by and gets around 600mm of rainfall a year so the land is somewhat well watered with warm, but hot, summers and cool winters. The town is known for its pleasant climate during the summer periods. Between mid May and early September. The annual high temperature is an average of 27.7 °C and low 13.5 °C.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia published in 2005, Āfdem has an estimated total population of 2,129 of whom 1,092 are men and 1,037 women. The town's inhabitants belong to various mainly Afro-Asiatic-speaking ethnic groups, with the Issa Somali predominant.

The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 1,428 of whom 721 were men and 707 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali (69.54%), the Oromo (20.93%), and the Amhara (7.63%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 1.9% of the residents.

References

References

2. [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/A/ORTAF.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 25 February 2009)
3. "Levoyageur Weather : Ethiopia".
4. [http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/National%20statistics/national%20statistics%202005/Population.pdf CSA 2005 National Statistics], Table B.4
5. [http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%201994/survey0/data/docs%5Creport%5CStatistical_Report%5Ck05%5Ck05.pdf ''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1''] Tables 2.4, 2.14 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.