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The Kafa of Ethiopia

The Kafa of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 1,430,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group indigenous to the forested highlands of southwestern Ethiopia, primarily in the Kaffa Zone around the town of Bonga. They are best known historically as the people of the former Kingdom of Kaffa. They mostly adhere to Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity and Kafa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Omotic
Primary Language(s): Kafa (kbr)
Primary Religion(s): Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Population: 1,430,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011601
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Pray for the Kafa of Ethiopia

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: Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

45%
%
Tewahedo Orthodox Christi… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kafa
Language Family: Ta-Ne-Omotic

94%
%
Kafa Speakers

Media Resources in Kafa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kafa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2010 SIM✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kafa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kafa 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 Kafa:
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 Kafa of Ethiopia

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Kafa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104390) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KafaPG011601KafaEthiopia1,430,000Engaged yet UnreachedKafaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity

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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