The Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

The Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea, numbering approximately 33,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a culturally rich group formed through centuries of admixture between indigenous Africans and Arab immigrants, characterized by their Sunni Muslim faith, Arabic language, and influential role in Sudan's socio-political landscape.. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Sudanese Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arab, Sudanese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Sudanese Arabic (apd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 33,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011520
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

97%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sudanese Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Sudanese Speakers

Media Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sharif (Sudanese) Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Sudanese Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Sudanese Arabs:
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

Pray specifically for the Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Arab, Sudanese Across Countries (ROP3 - 109571) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSudan15,860,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEgypt4,330,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsYemen586,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSaudi Arabia478,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsChad376,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEthiopia267,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsLibya258,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited Arab Emirates85,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsQatar56,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited States52,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEritrea33,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsOman23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsCanada22,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsNetherlands7,700Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsItaly5,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsFrance3,300Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni 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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