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

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
readDaniel 7:13-14

Pray that the gospel will advance so that all peoples will come to know the Son of Man, who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that they will bow before Him and serve Him forever.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

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.

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