 The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 95.44% reporting that as their religion, while 4.43% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 117,011 in 27,422 households, of whom 58,069 were men and 58,942 were women; 4,060 or 3.47% of its population were urban dwellers.The two largest ethnic groups reported in Kelala were the Amhara (87.24%), and the Oromo (12.64%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.12% of the population.