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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nuer of South Sudan

The Nuer of South Sudan, numbering approximately 1,770,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Nuer, a Nilotic ethnic group concentrated in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. They mostly adhere to African Traditional Religion and Nuer is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nuer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Nuer (nus)
Primary Religion(s): African Traditional Religion
Population: 1,770,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046788
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Pray for the Nuer of South Sudan

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: African Traditional Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
African Traditional Relig… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nuer
Language Family: Nilotic

100%
%
Nuer Speakers

Media Resources in Nuer:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nuer:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of South Sudan✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nuer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nuer 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 Nuer:
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 Nuer of South Sudan

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
readPsalm 86:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord with all their heart, knowing that He is the one true God and will teach them His ways.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Nuer, Naath Across Countries (ROP3 - 106990) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NuerPG046788NuerSouth Sudan1,770,000Engaged yet UnreachedNuerAfrican Traditional Religion
NaathPG011572NaathEthiopia253,000No Longer UnreachedNuerProtestantism
NuerPG046705NuerUnited States15,000No Longer UnreachedNuerProtestantism

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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