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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Macha of Ethiopia

The Macha of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 7,150,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as one of the primary subgroups of the Oromo peoples of northern Ethiopia They are an Indigenous people, with Oromo as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Oromo people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Oromo, West Central.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, West Central (gaz)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 7,150,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011613
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Pray for the Macha of Ethiopia

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

55%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Oromo, West Central
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Oromo, West Central Speakers

Media Resources in Oromo, West Central:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Oromo, West Central:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Oromo, West Central bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Macha:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Macha 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 Macha:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Macha 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 Macha:
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 Macha of Ethiopia

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Oromo, Macha Across Countries (ROP3 - 105969) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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