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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kanembu of Chad

The Kanembu of Chad, numbering approximately 1,220,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnic group indigenous to the Lac Prefecture of Chad, considered to be modern descendants of the Kanem-Bornu Empire They are an Indigenous people, with Kanembu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Kanuri-Saharan people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Kanembu.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Kanembu (kbl)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 1,220,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011374
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Pray for the Kanembu of Chad

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kanembu
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Kanembu Speakers

Media Resources in Kanembu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kanembu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kanembu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kanembu 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 Kanembu:
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

Pray specifically for the Kanembu of Chad

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia."
readRomans 16:5

Pray for houses to be meeting places for Christians and that God will advance the gospel and grow His Church through natural familial and community relationships.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Kanembu Across Countries (ROP3 - 104570) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KanembuPG011374KanembuChad1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedKanembuFolk Islam
KanembuPG013602KanembuNiger38,500Engaged yet UnreachedKanembuFolk Islam
KanembuPG013904KanembuNigeria2,500Engaged yet UnreachedKanembuFolk Islam

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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