The Moroccan Arabs of Portugal

The Moroccan Arabs of Portugal, numbering approximately 24,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Arabic-speaking people of North Africa whose culture reflects the interaction of Arab, Amazigh (Berber), Islamic, Mediterranean, Saharan, African, and Andalusian influences within the distinctive historical and social context of Morocco. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Moroccan Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Portugal
People Cluster: Arab, Maghreb
Primary Language(s): Moroccan Arabic (ary)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 24,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000491
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Moroccan Arabs of Portugal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Moroccan Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Moroccan Speakers

Media Resources in Moroccan Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Moroccan Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Morocco Bible Society, 2012✓

1 entry

Or check out the Moroccan 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 Moroccan 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 Moroccan Arabs of Portugal

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or?rulers?or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
readColossians 1:16

Pray for those who are lost among them, that they will come to know the One who created all things and holds all things together.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Arab, Moroccan Across Countries (ROP3 - 106804) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

15 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsGibraltar1,700Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsLibya11,500Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsPortugal24,000Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsUnited Kingdom41,000Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsCanada111,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsUnited States122,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsGermany137,000Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsAlgeria187,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsBelgium232,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsNetherlands411,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsWestern Sahara417,000Unengaged and UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsItaly516,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsFrance853,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsSpain881,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan ArabicSunni Islam
Moroccan ArabsMoroccan ArabsMorocco21,300,000Engaged yet UnreachedMoroccan 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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