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The Wolaitta of Ethiopia

The Wolaitta of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 3,090,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnic group living between the Belati and Omo rivers in Ethiopia. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Wolaytta is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Wolaitta

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Omotic
Primary Language(s): Wolaytta (wal)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 3,090,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011653
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Pray for the Wolaitta of Ethiopia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

71%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wolaytta
Language Family: Ta-Ne-Omotic

100%
%
Wolaytta Speakers

Media Resources in Wolaytta:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wolaytta:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 SIM and Kale Heywet Church✓✓✓
2004 SIM and Kale Heywet Church✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wolaytta bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Wolaitta are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Wolaitta:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Wolaitta of Ethiopia

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Wolaitta Across Countries (ROP3 - 110640) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WolaittaPG011653WolaittaEthiopia3,090,000No Longer UnreachedWolayttaProtestantism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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