The Awi of Ethiopia

The Awi of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 1,040,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Awngi-speaking Cushitic people of northwestern Ethiopia whose cultural heritage is rooted in the broader Agaw tradition and whose religious life is predominantly centered in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They mostly adhere to Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity and Awngi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Agau
Primary Language(s): Awngi (awn)
Primary Religion(s): Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Population: 1,040,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011645
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Pray for the Awi of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Tewahedo Orthodox Christi… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Awngi
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Awngi Speakers

Media Resources in Awngi:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Awngi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Awngi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% 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 Awi:
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 Awi of Ethiopia

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

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.

Awi Across Countries (ROP3 - 109464) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

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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