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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Selale of Ethiopia

The Selale of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 5,590,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a subgroup of the Tulema (Tulama) Oromo, one of the major branches of the Oromo people of Ethiopia. Their traditional homeland is the Selale/Salaalee region of North Shewa, north of Addis Ababa in present-day Oromia Region. They are an Indigenous people in the Oromo people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji and their primary religion is Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Selale

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji (gax)
Primary Religion(s): Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Population: 5,590,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011636

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Pray for the Selale 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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

70%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

100%
%

Media Resources in Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% or Greater but Less than 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Selale:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Selale 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 Selale:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Selale are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Selale:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Selale of Ethiopia

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

Selale Across Countries (ROP3 - 108807) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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