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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

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

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.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
readDeuteronomy 6:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hide God's Word in their hearts, let it shape their conversations and daily lives, and pass on their faith to the next generation.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

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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