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The Barma of Chad

The Barma of Chad, numbering approximately 147,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are founders of the Sultanate of Bagirmi in Chad, established around 1522 south of Kanem with its capital at Massenya, ruled by kings titled Mbang who won independence from Bornu in the 1700s before falling to Wadai in 1805 and Rabih az-Zubayr in 1893. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Bagirmi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Sara-Bagirmi
Primary Language(s): Bagirmi (bmi)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 147,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011315
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Pray for the Barma of Chad

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bagirmi
Language Family: Central Sudanic

100%
%
Bagirmi Speakers

Media Resources in Bagirmi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bagirmi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bagirmi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Barma 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 Barma:
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 Barma of Chad

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Barma Across Countries (ROP3 - 101074) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
BarmaPG011315BarmaChad147,000Engaged yet UnreachedBagirmiFolk 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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