Which Afro-Asiatic peoples live in northern and northeastern Kenya?

The Afro-Asiatic peoples in Kenya primarily inhabit the arid and semiarid regions of the north and northeast. These groups constitute a small fraction of the country's total population and generally pursue a pastoral livelihood in areas frequently affected by drought and desertification.1

The primary Afro-Asiatic groups include:

• Somali: These people live in the northeastern regions bordering Somalia.1
• Oromo: This group resides in areas bordering Ethiopia.1
• Burji: A smaller group, some of whom are descendants of laborers brought from Ethiopia during the 1930s to assist with road construction in northern Kenya.1

These populations are part of the broader Cushitic language subfamily, which is a significant component of the Afro-Asiatic language family in eastern Africa.12