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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Borana of Kenya

The Borana of Kenya, numbering approximately 213,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as one of six major dialect groups of the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo (Ethnologue 16) They are an Indigenous people, with Borana 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, Borana-Arsi-Guji.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji (gax)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 213,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014769
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Pray for the Borana of Kenya

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

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Speakers

Media Resources in Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1994 Bible Society of Kenya✓
2007 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Borana 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 Borana:
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 Borana of Kenya

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Borana Across Countries (ROP3 - 101615) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BoranaPG014769BoranaKenya213,000Engaged yet UnreachedOromo, Borana-Arsi-GujiSunni Islam
BoranaPG011558BoranaEthiopia969,000No Longer UnreachedOromo, Borana-Arsi-GujiSunni 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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