sentences:  The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 393,905, of whom 200,411 were men and 193,494 women; 12,718 or 3.23% of its population were urban dwellers at the time.The four largest ethnic groups reported in Hagere Mariam were the Oromo (70.98%), the Gedeo (25.77%), the Amhara (1.16%), and the Burji (0.87%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.22% of the population.Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 72.2%, 25.41% spoke Gedeo and 1.59% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.8% spoke all other primary languages reported.