The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 123,082, of whom 63,108 were men and 59,974 women; 5,763 or 4.68% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of one rural kebele, which was not counted; it was estimated to have 13,111 inhabitants, of whom 6,594 were men and 6,517 women.) The two largest ethnic groups reported in Malko Balo were the Oromo (93.65%), and the Amhara (6.12%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.23% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 94.95%, and 4.92% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.13% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 93.34% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 6.52% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.