Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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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The Saidi Arabs of Egypt

The Saidi Arabs of Egypt, numbering approximately 27,140,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the Arabic-speaking population of Upper Egypt's Nile Valley from Beni Suef to the Sudan border, who identify as the most direct descendants of the ancient Pharaonic Egyptians and maintain strong tribal solidarity and honor codes. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Saidi Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Egypt
People Cluster: Arab, Egyptian
Primary Language(s): Saidi Arabic (aec)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 27,140,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011489
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Pray for the Saidi Arabs of Egypt

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

85%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saidi Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Sa’idi Speakers

Media Resources in Saidi Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Saidi Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Upper Egyptian Colloquial✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Saidi Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Saidi Arabs 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 Saidi Arabs:
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 Saidi Arabs of Egypt

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Arab, Saidi Across Countries (ROP3 - 108521) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Saidi ArabsPG011489Saidi ArabsEgypt27,140,000Engaged yet UnreachedSaidi ArabicSunni 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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