Wolayta (also spelled Wolaitta) (Ethiopic: ወላይታ Wolaytta) is the name of an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent census (2007), they number 3.7 million people or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are urban inhabitants. Their language, 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.