The Bahnar of Vietnam

The Bahnar of Vietnam, numbering approximately 228,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Austroasiatic people of Vietnam's Central Highlands whose ancestors migrated westward from the Ba River region and who form one of the largest Bahnaric-speaking communities, closely linked to the history and culture of the Tây Nguyên. They mostly adhere to Animism and Bahnar is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Bahnar (bdq)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 228,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011108
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bahnar of Vietnam

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

78%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bahnar
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Bahnar Speakers

Media Resources in Bahnar:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bahnar:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bahnar Bible✓

1 entry

Or check out the Bahnar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bahnar 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 Bahnar:
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 Bahnar of Vietnam

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
readDeuteronomy 6:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, as they strive to live lives that honor and glorify Him.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Bahnar Across Countries (ROP3 - 100770) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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