population reached about 60,600 in 2001, making Debre Markos the 13th largest town in Ethiopia. The 1994 national census reported a total population for Debre Markos of 49,297 in 9,617 households, of whom 22,745 were men and 26,552 were women. The largest ethnic group of the town was reported to be the Amhara (97.12%) while the rest including Tigrayan (1.29%), Oromo (0.67%) and others comprising less than 1% of the population. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 97.25% reporting that as their religion, while 1.88% were Muslim, and 0.81% were Protestant. A population count in Debre Markos reached 44,410 in 1987, more than doubling in twenty years. The census counted 31,842 inhabitants in 1975, which was 10,000 more than at a previous census in 1967 which counted 21,536 residents. Culture The town's principal church is dedicated to Markos. Economy Debre Markos is located close to a strategic mountain, Mount Chokea, which is one of the major sources for the water tower of Africa. The mountain is the source of over 40 rivers and is located around 60 km north of Debre Markos and at 4100 meters above sea level. It is also a home of diverse wildlife, birds, clean air which creates stimulating memories and relives stress. Debre Markos is also known for being a producer of prolific writers, monuments, poetries, and spirituals. It is close to historical traditional schools, including Dima Giorgis Orthodox church, The Emperor Asrat, The Mysterious religion, and The Palace. According to Bradt travel guides, Debre Markos is the most accommodating town on the journey between Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, the town's has several hotels and restaurants offering high standards experience for comperatively low prices. Transportation Construction on Africa's first electric bus manufacturing factory began on 43 hectares of land in Debre Markos in January, 2007 by Rus Afro Trolleybus, a joint Russian-Ethiopian partnership. CEO and major shareholder Getachew Eshetu predicted that the factory would have the capacity to manufacture 500 trolley buses per year, and employ 5,000 people. The city had three highways and one airport, Debre Markos Airport but now it is not functional due to poor government attention. Notes References Districts of Amhara Region Ethiopia Cities and towns in Ethiopia