Somali

How many people are native Somali speakers?

About 15 million people speak Somali natively, mainly in Somalia, where it is an official language.

How many people speak Somali in the world?

More than 1 million other Somali speakers exist, especially those part of the Somali diaspora and in Ethiopia and Kenya, where it is a recognized minority language.

Origins of Somali

Somali is an Afroasiatic language of the Cushitic branch. It is most similar to Oromo, spoken in the Horn of Africa, but it does share part of its vocabulary with Arabic.