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

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
read2 Corinthians 6:14

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and want to marry, they will be led to other believers and enter into godly marriages.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

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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