The Runga of Central African Republic

The Runga of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 41,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Nilo-Saharan people split between Chadian Arabic-speaking Runga and Aiki-speaking Runga-Aiki communities in northern Central African Republic and Chad, largely Muslim and drawn recently into factional violence within the Ex-Seleka FPRC militia They are an Indigenous people, with Runga as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Ouaddai-Fur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Runga is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Ouaddai-Fur
Primary Language(s): Runga (rou)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 41,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012922
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Runga of Central African Republic

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Runga
Language Family: Maban

100%
%
Runga Speakers

Media Resources in Runga:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Runga:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Runga bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Runga 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 Runga:
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 Runga of Central African Republic

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

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.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
read2 Corinthians 5:20

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will be His ambassadors, faithfully imploring people on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God through Jesus.

Runga Across Countries (ROP3 - 108443) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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