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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Suafa Bedouins of Algeria

The Suafa Bedouins of Algeria, numbering approximately 151,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Arabic-speaking population of Algeria's Oued Souf oasis region. Historically associated with oasis agriculture, desert trade, and interaction with neighboring pastoral groups, they form a regional Saharan Arab community rooted in the Souf oasis system. They are an Indigenous people in the Bedouin, Saharan people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Tamazight, Central Atlas and their primary religion is Sunni Islam.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Suafa Bedouin

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Algeria
People Cluster: Bedouin, Saharan
Primary Language(s): Tamazight, Central Atlas (tzm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 151,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042652
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Pray for the Suafa Bedouins of Algeria

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tamazight, Central Atlas
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

70%
%
Tamazight, Central Atlas Speakers

Media Resources in Tamazight, Central Atlas:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tamazight, Central Atlas:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tamazight, Central Atlas 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: 0), 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 Recent 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 Suafa Bedouins:
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 Suafa Bedouins 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 Suafa Bedouins:
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 Suafa Bedouins 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 Suafa Bedouins:
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 Suafa Bedouins of Algeria

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Bedouin, Suafa Across Countries (ROP3 - 109560) 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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