In the 1994 national census Sheko had a population of 35,878, of whom 18,594 were men and 17,284 women; 2,271 or 6.33% of its population were urban dwellers. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 2 rural kebeles, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 256 inhabitants, of whom 143 were men and 113 women.) The five largest ethnic groups reported in this woreda were the Sheko people (33.64%), the Amhara (16.09%), the Kafficho (15.26%), the Bench (12.7%), and the Me'en (5.76%); all other ethnic groups made up 16.55% of the population. Sheko was spoken as a first language by 33.88% of the inhabitants, 23.48% spoke Amharic, 12.56% spoke Kafa, 12.02% spoke Bench, and 5.5% spoke Me'en; the remaining 13.56% spoke all other primary languages reported.