 The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 179,708, of whom 89,443 were men and 90,265 women; 11,665 or 6.49% of its population were urban dwellers at the time.The two largest ethnic groups reported in Kofele were the Oromo (94.86%), and the Amhara (3.83%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.31% of the population.Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 94.59%, and 4.55% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.86% spoke all other primary languages reported.