Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Garre of Ethiopia

The Garre of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 13,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Somali clan descended from the ancestor Gardheere, whose sultanates once spanned southern Somalia, northeastern Kenya, and southern Ethiopia before 16th-century Oromo invasions ended their political autonomy. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Garre

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo (gax)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 13,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011577

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Garre of Ethiopia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

98%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Speakers

Media Resources in Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1994 Bible Society of Kenya✓
2007 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Garre are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Garre:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Garre of Ethiopia

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
readDeuteronomy 7:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know God's faithful love and keep His commandments, experiencing His steadfast care.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Oromo, Garre Across Countries (ROP3 - 115104) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
GarrePG014789GarreKenya982,000Engaged yet UnreachedBorana-Arsi-Guji OromoFolk Islam
GarrePG011577GarreEthiopia13,500Engaged yet UnreachedBorana-Arsi-Guji OromoSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top