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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bilen of Eritrea

The Bilen of Eritrea, numbering approximately 78,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an ethnic group whose homeland for centuries was the Keren region of Eritrea and the Tigray province of Ethiopia They are an Indigenous people, with Bilen (Northern Agaw) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Agau people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Bilen.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Agau
Primary Language(s): Bilen (byn)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 78,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011523
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Pray for the Bilen of Eritrea

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

68%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bilen
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

94%
%
Bilen Speakers

Media Resources in Bilen:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bilen:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bilen 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 Bilen:
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 Bilen of Eritrea

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Bilen Across Countries (ROP3 - 101444) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BilenPG011523BilenEritrea78,500Unengaged and UnreachedBilenSunni 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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