The
Oromo people (; ;
’Oromo) are an ethnic group inhabiting
Ethiopia, northern
Kenya, and parts of
Somalia. With around 25 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnicity in Ethiopia and the wider
Horn of Africa, at approximately 35% of Ethiopia's population according to the 2007 census. 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 name was given as
Ilm’ Orma ("Sons of Men" or an eponymous 'Orma') in the 19th century; the present form is probably an obsolete plural of the same word
orma ("person, stranger").