Afro-Asiatic · ISO 639-3 hae
Eastern Oromo Language Oromoo
Eastern Oromo is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by about 4.5 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Eastern Oromo is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Eastern Oromo
About the Eastern Oromo language
Eastern Oromo (Oromoo) is spoken by about 4.5 million people, which makes it the 196th most spoken language in the world — just behind Kirghiz (4.6 million) and ahead of Pulaar (4.5 million). It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and, more precisely, to the Central-Eastern Oromo group within the East Cushitic branch.
Where is Eastern Oromo spoken?
Eastern Oromo is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Ethiopia (4.5 million).
Eastern Oromo is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Eastern Oromo is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo, Somali, Maay, Afar, Oromo and Sidamo.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 hae.
Frequently asked questions about Eastern Oromo
How many people speak Eastern Oromo?
Where is Eastern Oromo spoken?
What language family does Eastern Oromo belong to?
What is Eastern Oromo called in Eastern Oromo?
Is Eastern Oromo an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.