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The Nielim of Chad

The Nielim of Chad, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bua-speaking Sara clan of southern Chad's Chari River, formerly ruled by the Niellim Sultanate and made a tributary of the Bagirmi kingdom, near whose rocks the slaver-warlord Rabah annihilated a French colonial detachment in 1899. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Niellim is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Niellim (nie)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011436
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Pray for the Nielim of Chad

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Niellim
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

85%
%
Niellim Speakers

Media Resources in Niellim:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Niellim:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Niellim bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nielim 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 Nielim:
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 Nielim of Chad

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Nielim Across Countries (ROP3 - 107316) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
NielimPG011436NielimChad17,000Engaged yet UnreachedNiellimEthnoreligion

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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