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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gulf Arabs of United States

The Gulf Arabs of United States, numbering approximately 49,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Arab people of the Arabian Gulf who speak Gulf Arabic and share a cultural heritage shaped by tribal traditions, kinship networks, maritime commerce, and the historical societies of eastern Arabia They are an Diaspora people, with Arab, Gulf as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Arab, Arabian people cluster of the Arab Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Gulf Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Gulf Arab

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Gulf Arabic (afb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 49,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047300
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Pray for the Gulf Arabs of United States

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gulf Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Gulf Speakers

Media Resources in Gulf Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gulf Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gulf Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gulf Arabs 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 Gulf Arabs:
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 Gulf Arabs of United States

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Arab, Gulf Sunni Across Countries (ROP3 - 100427) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Gulf BedouinsPG042688Gulf BedouinsEgypt1,830,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG012238Gulf ArabsUnited Arab Emirates1,355,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Kuwaiti Sunni ArabsPG011792Kuwaiti Sunni ArabsKuwait1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011691Gulf ArabsIran944,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011890Gulf ArabsOman888,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG046680Gulf ArabsSaudi Arabia583,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011905Gulf ArabsQatar393,000Unengaged and UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG047413Gulf ArabsCanada61,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG047300Gulf ArabsUnited States49,500Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG012271Gulf ArabsYemen23,000Unengaged and UnreachedHijazi 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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