More on the PAO's Ongoing  Series on Diversity

In an effort to help foster a greater office understanding of King County's wonderfully diverse population, the PAO's Diversity Committee is offering a series of monthly presentations that focus on distinct communities within King County.

February's presentation was about the Oromo, an ethnic group predominately from Ethiopia, where they make up nearly 35% of the population.  The Oromo represent one of the largest Cushitic-speaking groups, with 35 million speakers.  Other Cushitic-speaking peoples include the Somali and the Afar.  The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa.  The languages are named after the Biblical figure Cush (eldest son of Ham and brother of Canaan).

King County has the second-largest Oromo population in the United States, with over 5,000 Oromo living in the Seattle area.

Return to the News