Dire Dawa is a chartered city (astedader akabibi) in eastern Ethiopia. According to a 1994 census Dire Dawa has a population of 164,851 making the city one of the largest in the country. Dire Dawa was founded in 1902, after the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad reached the area. The railroad could not reach the city of Harar at its higher elevation, so Dire Dawa was built nearby.