Bako, Ethiopia

Bako is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab (West) Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, on the all-weather highway between Addis Ababa and Nekemte, this town has a longitude and latitude of 9°08′N 37°03′E with an elevation of 1743 meters above sea level. Bako is the administrative center of Bako Tibe woreda.

During the Italian occupation, Bako is mentioned as having a medical clinic and a school. In 1948, Swedish missionaries opened a medical clinic in the town, which evolved into a mission station by 1953. By 1967, the town had phone service, as well as a primary and junior secondary schools; there was also a school for the blind, which had been moved from Addis Ababa to Bako 1961.[1] The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research opened a center in Bako in 1968, which is the national center for improving the yield of maize.[2]

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Bako has an estimated total population of 18,641 of whom 9,370 are men and 9,271 women.[3] The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 10,422 of whom 5,082 were men and 5,340 women. It is the largest of three towns in Bako Tibe.