Oromo language information

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Oromo
Afaan Oromoo
Native to	Ethiopia, Kenya[1]
Region	Oromia
Ethnicity	Oromo
Native speakers	37,400,000 (all countries) (2018)[2] 36,600,000 in Ethiopia, 627,000 in Kenya,[3] 41,600 in Somalia (2015 census)[1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Lowland East Cushitic Oromoid Oromo
Writing system	Latin (Qubee, Oromo alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Ethiopia[4]
Recognised minority language in	Kenya
Language codes
ISO 639-1	om
ISO 639-2	orm
ISO 639-3	orm – inclusive code Individual codes: gax – Borana–Arsi–Guji–Wallaggaa-Shawaa Oromo hae – Eastern Oromo orc – Orma gaz – West Central Oromo ssn – Waata
Glottolog	nucl1736
Areas in East Africa where Oromo is spoken
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Oromo (/ˈɒrəmoʊ/^[5] or /ɔːˈroʊmoʊ/;^[6][7] Oromo: Afaan Oromoo), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushitic branch. It is native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia and spoken predominantly by the Oromo people and neighbouring ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa. It is used as a lingua franca particularly in Ethiopia and northeastern Kenya.^[8][9][10]

With more than 36 million speakers^[11] making up 33.8% of the total Ethiopian population,^[12] Oromo has the largest number of native speakers in Ethiopia, and ranks as the second most widely spoken language in Ethiopia by total number of speakers (including second-language speakers) following Amharic.^[13] Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by an additional half-million people in parts of northern and eastern Kenya.^[14] It is also spoken by smaller numbers of emigrants in other African countries such as South Africa, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Oromo is the most widely spoken Cushitic language and among the five languages of Africa with the largest mother-tongue populations.^[15]

Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of Ethiopia^[4] and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including Oromia,^[12] Harari and Dire Dawa regional states and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region. It is a language of primary education in Oromia, Harari, Dire Dawa, Benishangul-Gumuz and Addis Ababa and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region. It is used as an internet language for federal websites along with Tigrinya.^[16][17] Under Haile Selassie's regime, Oromo was banned in education, in conversation, and in administrative matters.^[18][19][20]