Wolaytta Kochchaa | |
|---|---|
 Wolaitan girl | |
| Total population | |
| 1,707,079 (2007)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Ethiopia | |
| 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.
- ^ Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia. "Table 2.2 Percentage Distribution of Major Ethnic Groups: 2007" (PDF). Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results. United Nations Population Fund. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "Population Size by Sex, Region, Zone and Wereda: July 2021" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ "Population Size of Towns by Sex, Region, Zone and Weredas as of July 2021" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-11-04.