Mekelle

Mekelle መቐለ (Tigrinya)
Regional capital and special zone
From top, left to right: Central Mekelle; Hawzen Square; Tekele Haymanot Church; Emperor Yohannes IV Palace Museum; Meskel cross at Chom’a hill; Tigray Martyrs Memorial Monument
Nickname:  The Northern Star(ሰሜናዊት ኮኾብ)
Mekelle special zone
Mekelle Location within Ethiopia Mekelle Location within the Horn of Africa Mekelle Location within Africa
Coordinates: 13°29′49″N 39°28′37″E
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Tigray
Zone	Mekelle Special Zone
Government
• Mayor	(Redae Berhe as of 13 March 2025)
Area
• Total	93 km2 (36 sq mi)
Elevation	2,254 m (7,395 ft)
Population  (2023)
• Total	525,475
• Estimate  (2023)	545,635
• Density	5,700/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code	(+251) 14
Climate	Cold semi-arid

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter settlement_type. Replace with type.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter timezone. Replace with time_zone.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter blank_info. Replace with custom_data_sec1.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter blank_name. Replace with custom_label_sec1.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter pushpin_map_caption. Replace with pushpin_caption.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter imagesize. Replace with image_size.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter timezone_DST. Replace with time_zone_DST.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter image_caption. Replace with caption.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter image_skyline. Replace with image.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with multiple other deprecated parameters. Fix those above and preview again.

Mekelle (Tigrinya: መቐለ), or Mek'ele, is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around 780 kilometres (480 mi) north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. It is the economic, cultural, and political hub of northern Ethiopia.

Mekelle has grown rapidly since 1991 with a population of 61,000 in 1984, 97,000 inhabitants in 1994 (96.5% being Tigrinya-speakers), and 170,000 in 2006 (i.e. 4% of the population of Tigray). Mekelle is the second-largest city in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa, with a population of around 545,000. It is four times larger than Adigrat, the second-largest regional center. The majority of the population of Mekelle depends on government employment, commerce, and small-scale enterprises. In 2007, Mekelle had new engineering, cement, and textile factories, producing for the local and foreign markets. Mekelle University developed out of the pre-1991 Arid Agricultural College, and about a dozen other governmental and private colleges were created.