Kucha (woreda)

Kucha (QUCA in the local language) is part of a region known for hilly and undulating midland and upper lowland terrain; due to terrain and weather patterns, less than one in five households is food secure. Food crops include maize, enset, sweet potatoes, taro, teff, and yams; income sources include butter, peanut, beans and selling firewood.^[1] According to a 2004 report, Kucha had 58 kilometers of all-weather roads and 8 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 48 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[2]

Although this woreda was in existence before the incorporation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, its current area dates from 1996. That year the lowlands of the neighboring Dera-Malo woreda were joined to Kucha, and the highlands of that woreda joined to Dita, becoming Dita Dermalo.^[3]

Based on the 2021 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 400,287, of whom 200,207 are men and 200,080 women; 5,123 or 3.43% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were Protestants, with 49.83% of the population reporting that belief, 45.73% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity,3.36% catholics and 1.08% practiced traditional beliefs.^[4]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 102,598 of whom 51,657 were men and 50,941 were women; 1,931 or 1.88% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Kucha was the Kucha; all other ethnic groups made up 1.48% of the population. Qucatto language was the dominant first language, spoken by 99.01% of the inhabitants; the remaining 0.99% spoke all other primary languages reported.^[5]

6°30′N 37°20′E / 6.500°N 37.333°E / 6.500; 37.333