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The Mbati of Central African Republic

The Mbati of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 97,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the northernmost Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa, settled along the Ubangi River near Mbaiki in southern Central African Republic's Lobaye prefecture, distinct from the region's Ubangian-speaking majority and Aka Pygmy hunter-gatherers. They mostly adhere to Animism and Mbati is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Sudanic
Primary Language(s): Mbati (mdn)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 97,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012894
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Pray for the Mbati of Central African Republic

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbati
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Mbati Speakers

Media Resources in Mbati:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mbati:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbati bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mbati 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 Mbati:
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 Mbati of Central African Republic

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
read1 Peter 3:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live in harmony with one another, showing sympathy, love, compassion, and humility.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Mbati Across Countries (ROP3 - 106468) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
MbatiPG012894MbatiCentral African Republic97,500Engaged yet UnreachedMbatiAnimism

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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