Oromo is an Afroasiatic language spoken in the Horn of Africa. It is the most widely spoken language in the family’s Cushitic branch. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 24 million Oromo people and neighboring peoples in Ethiopia. Oromo is also spoken by an additional half million in parts of northern and eastern Kenya. It is also used by smaller numbers of emigrants in other African countries such as South Africa, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan.

About 85 percent of Oromo speakers live in Ethiopia, mainly in Oromia Region. In Somalia, there are also some speakers of the language. Within Ethiopia, Oromo is the language with the largest number of native speakers.

Within Africa, Oromo is the language with the fourth most speakers, after Arabic, Swahili, and Hausa.

A Wolof translation of Simple Truths will be made available this summer on the A Simple Word website. For more information about the Oromo people of Ethiopia, visit Operation World or The Joshua Project.