Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 215,914 people (104,925 men and 110,989 women). The two largest ethnic groups reported in Semien Mi'irabawi were the Tigray (26.2%), and Amhara (72.26%) ; all other ethnic groups made up 1.54% of the population. Tigrinya is spoken as a first language by 25.55%, and Amharic by 73.18% ; the remaining 1.27% spoke all other primary languages reported. 92.68% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians, and 6.03% were Muslim.
The 1994 national census reported the population of Mekelle as 96,938 people (45,729 men and 51,209 women). The two largest ethnic groups reported were the Tigrayan (26.5%), the Amhara (71.59%) , foreigners from Eritrea (0.99%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.98% of the population. Tigrinya was spoken as a first language by 26.26%, and 72.98% spoke Amharic ; the remaining 0.76% spoke all other primary languages reported. 91.31% of the population practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 7.66% were Muslim. Concerning education, 51.75% of the population were considered literate, which is more than the Zone average of 15.71%; 91.11% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 17.73% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; and 52.13% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning sanitary conditions, about 88% of the urban houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census, and about 51% had toilet facilities.