Wolaytta Kochchaa | |
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![]() Wolaitan girl | |
Total population | |
1,707,079 (2007)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
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Languages | |
Wolayttatto Doonaa (ancestral and primary) Amharic (auxiliary) | |
Religion | |
Mainly Protestant Christians with sizable minority of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christians | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Gamo, Gofa, and other Omotic and Southwest Ethiopian peoples. |
The Welayta, or Wolaitans (Ge'ez: ወላይታ Wolayta) are an ethnic group located in Southwestern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate (2017), the people of Wolayta numbered 5.83 million in Welayta Zone.[2][3] The language of the Wolayta people, similarly called Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite their small population, Wolayta people have widely influenced national music, dance, and cuisine in Ethiopia.