 The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 51,283 in 10,715 households, of whom 25,574 were men and 25,709 were women; 1,113 or 2.17% of its population were urban dwellers.The largest ethnic group reported in Gishe Rabel was the Amhara (99.93%), and Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.94%.The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 95.56% reporting that as their religion, while 4.26% were Muslim.