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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The S'ilte of Ethiopia

The S'ilte of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 1,530,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Semitic-language people who live in the southwestern reaches of Shoa Province in Ethiopia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Ethio-Semitic people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Silt’e.

S'ilte in Ethiopia photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: S'ilte

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Ethio-Semitic
Primary Language(s): Silt’e (stv)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,530,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011625
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the S'ilte of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Silt’e
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Silt’e Speakers

Media Resources in Silt’e:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Silt’e:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Silt’e bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the S'ilte

The S'ilte are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the S'ilte

The S'ilte are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the S'ilte

The S'ilte 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the S'ilte of Ethiopia

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
readJohn 14:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere in hope, remembering that Jesus went to prepare a place for them to be with Him for eternity!

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Gurage, East (ROP3 - 102817) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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