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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

That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:27

Pray that those who don't yet know Christ will search diligently for God and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

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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