The Zaghawa of Chad

The Zaghawa of Chad, numbering approximately 232,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large ethnic sub-group of the Beri (Kige), a semi-nomadic community indigenous to southwestern Libya, northeastern Chad, and western Sudan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Zaghawa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Zaghawa (zag)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 232,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011470
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Zaghawa of Chad

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zaghawa
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Zaghawa Speakers

Media Resources in Zaghawa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Zaghawa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Zaghawa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Zaghawa 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 Zaghawa:
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 Zaghawa of Chad

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

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.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Zaghawa Across Countries (ROP3 - 111134) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ZaghawaZaghawaUnited States250Unengaged and UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaSudan268,000Engaged yet UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaLibya11,500Unengaged and UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaChad232,000Engaged yet UnreachedZaghawaSunni 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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