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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wello of Ethiopia

The Wello of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 415,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the major Oromo subgroups in Ethiopia and can also be known as Wollo, Wallo. They are an Indigenous people, in the Oromo people cluster of the Horn of Africa affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Oromo, West Central.

Wello in Ethiopia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Kerry Olson Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North Africa and Middle East Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, West Central (gaz)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 415,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011655
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Wello of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Oromo, West Central
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Oromo, West Central Speakers

Media Resources in Oromo, West Central:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Oromo, West Central:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Oromo, West Central bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Wello

The Wello 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 Wello

The Wello 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 Wello

The Wello 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 Wello of Ethiopia

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
read1 Chronicles 16:26

Pray that those among them who are lost and seeking after worthless idols will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news, seeing that Jesus is better than any idol.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
read1 Peter 3:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live in harmony with one another, showing sympathy, love, compassion, and humility.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

Oromo, Wallo (ROP3 - 110647) 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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