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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Shawiya of Algeria

The Shawiya of Algeria, numbering approximately 2,525,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Berber ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Aurès Plateau region of the Atlas Mountains of northeastern Algeria. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tachawit is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Algeria
People Cluster: Amazigh-Shawiya
Primary Language(s): Tachawit (shy)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,525,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011273
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Pray for the Shawiya of Algeria

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tachawit
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Tachawit Speakers

Media Resources in Tachawit:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tachawit:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tachawit bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Shawiya 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 Shawiya:
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 Shawiya of Algeria

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them
readMatthew 4:24

Pray that the truth about the Lord will spread throughout the land so that many will have an opportunity to receive the good news and put their faith in Him.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Amazigh, Shawiya Across Countries (ROP3 - 108925) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ShawiyaPG012220ShawiyaTunisia53,000Unengaged and UnreachedTachawitSunni Islam
ShawiyaPG011679ShawiyaFrance196,000Unengaged and UnreachedTachawitSunni Islam
ShawiyaPG011273ShawiyaAlgeria2,525,000Engaged yet UnreachedTachawitSunni Islam
ShawiyaPG000353ShawiyaItaly39,000Unengaged and UnreachedTachawitSunni Islam
ShawiyaPG000070ShawiyaBelgium42,500Unengaged and UnreachedTachawitSunni 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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