 The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 94.96% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 4.78% of the population practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 171,483, of whom 83,930 are men and 87,553 are women; 10,320 or 6.02% of its population are urban dwellers, which is about the same as the Zone average of 6.9%.With an estimated area of 1,469.53 square kilometers, Malka Balo has an estimated population density of 116.7 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 102.6.