Oromos
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Ethiopia
|
25,400,000 (2007 census) |
 Kenya
|
227,674 (2009 census) |
 Australia
|
2,030 |
| Expatriates | unknown |
| Languages | |
| Oromo · Amharic · Tigrinya | |
| Religion | |
| Islam ~ 50%,Ethiopian Orthodox ~ 33%,Protestants and Traditional Religions | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afar · Agaw · Amhara · Beja · Saho · Somali · Tigray · Tigre · Sidama · other Cushitic peoples | |
The Oromo people (Oromo: Oromoo; Ge'ez: ኦሮሞ?; ’Oromo) are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia, who are also found in northern Kenya and Somalia. They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa. According to the 2007 census, they make up about 34.5% of Ethiopia's population, and others estimate that they make up about 40% of the population. With the total Ethiopian population thought to be over 102 million, the number of Oromo people exceeds 35 million in Ethiopia alone.
Oromos speak the Oromo language as a mother tongue (also called Afaan Oromoo and Oromiffa), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. The word Oromo appeared in literature for the first time in 1893 and then slowly became common in the second half of the 20th century.
The Oromo people followed their traditional religion and used the gada (gadaa) system of governance. A leader elected by the gadaa system remains in power only for 8 years, and there is an election every 8 years. From the 18th century to the 19th century, Oromos were the dominant influence in northern Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint period. Most of the Oromo people became Christians or Muslims over the centuries, while some retained their traditional beliefs. Some have been involved in wars with northern Christians and with southern and eastern Muslims, in the Horn of Africa.
The origins and prehistory of the Oromo people is unclear, in part because Oromo people did not have a written history, but instead passed on stories orally prior to the 16th-century. Older and subsequent colonial era documents mention Oromo people as Galla, but these documents were generally written by members of ethnic groups who were hostile towards them. Anthropologists and historians such as Herbert S. Lewis consider these sources to be "full of distortions, biases and misunderstandings".
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