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AfricaEthiopiaDire Dawa
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa, Ethiopia · Africa
About Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa sits on the route: 30 minutes from ‘Alemaya.
Dire Dawa is in Ethiopia, with about 340,000 people. The nearest town is ‘Alemaya, about 27 km away.
Dire Dawa (Oromo: Dirree Dhawaa, lit. 'Place of Remedy'; Somali: Diridhaba, meaning "where the Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", Amharic: ድሬዳዋ, Harari: ዲርሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine") is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia Region and Oromo border and one of two chartered cities in EthiopiaRead more
(the other being Addis Ababa, the capital). Dire Dawa alongside present-day Sitti Zone were a part of the Dire Dawa autonomous region of the Somali Region stipulated in the 1987 Ethiopian Constitution until 1993 when it was split by the federal government into a separately administered chartered city.
It is divided administratively into two woredas, the city proper and the non-urban woredas of Gurgura.
Dire Dawa lies in the eastern part of the nation, on the Dechatu River, at the foot of a ring of cliffs. The western outskirts of the city lie on the Gorro River, a tributary of the Dechatu River. It is located at the latitude and longitude of 9°36′N 41°52′E. The city is an industrial centre, home to several markets and the Dire Dawa Airport.
The projected population for 2015 was 440,000 for the entire chartered city and 277,000 for the city proper, making the latter the second largest city in Ethiopia.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dire Dawa?
Dire Dawa is in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, about 27 km from ‘Alemaya.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 343,000
- Continent
- Africa
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Region
- Dire Dawa
- Timezone
- Africa/Addis_Ababa
- Coordinates
- 9.5931, 41.8661
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When to drive here
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
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