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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

The Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea, numbering approximately 33,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a culturally rich group formed through centuries of admixture between indigenous Africans and Arab immigrants, characterized by their Sunni Muslim faith, Arabic language, and influential role in Sudan's socio-political landscape.. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Sudanese Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arab, Sudanese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Sudanese Arabic (apd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 33,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011520
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Pray for the Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

97%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sudanese Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Sudanese Speakers

Media Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sharif (Sudanese) Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sudanese Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Sudanese Arabs:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Sudanese Arabs of Eritrea

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
readPsalm 19:1-2

Pray that the lost will see the glory of God revealed in the heavens, that they will hear the good news, and that their hearts will be softened to respond to God’s call, turning to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will lead those who might hesitate in getting baptized to trust Him as they obey His command, even when obedience is hard.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Arab, Sudanese Across Countries (ROP3 - 109571) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sudanese ArabsPG012142Sudanese ArabsSudan15,860,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011512Sudanese ArabsEgypt4,330,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG012294Sudanese ArabsYemen586,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011936Sudanese ArabsSaudi Arabia478,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG050126Sudanese ArabsChad376,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011646Sudanese ArabsEthiopia267,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011847Sudanese ArabsLibya258,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG012256Sudanese ArabsUnited Arab Emirates85,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011908Sudanese ArabsQatar56,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG046702Sudanese ArabsUnited States52,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011520Sudanese ArabsEritrea33,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG046414Sudanese ArabsOman23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG047411Sudanese ArabsCanada22,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG000436Sudanese ArabsNetherlands7,700Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG043170Sudanese ArabsItaly5,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsPG011681Sudanese ArabsFrance3,300Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese 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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