Harar, formerly written
Harrar and known to its inhabitants as
Gey, is a walled city in eastern
Ethiopia. It was formerly the capital of
Harergey and now the capital of the modern
Harari ethno-political division (or
kilil) of Ethiopia. The city is located on a hilltop in the eastern extension of the
Ethiopian Highlands, about five hundred kilometers from
Addis Ababa at an elevation of 1,885 meters. Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Harar had an estimated total population of 122,000, of whom 60,000 were males and 62,000 were females. According to the census of 1994, on which this estimate is based, the city had a population of 76,378.