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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Libyan Arabs of Libya

The Libyan Arabs of Libya, numbering approximately 2,810,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a people of Bedouin Arab ancestry with a more localized ethnic identity tied to their history in Libya. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Libyan Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Libyan Arab

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Libya
People Cluster: Arab, Libyan
Primary Language(s): Libyan Arabic (ayl)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,810,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011841
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Pray for the Libyan Arabs of Libya

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Libyan Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Libyan Speakers

Media Resources in Libyan Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Libyan Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2020 Mahabat El-Rahman✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Libyan 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 Libyan 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 Libyan Arabs of Libya

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
read2 Corinthians 12:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties, having hope because Christ's power is made perfect in their weakness.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Arab, Libyan Across Countries (ROP3 - 105948) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
Libyan ArabsPG011505Libyan ArabsEgypt1,080,000Engaged yet UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsPG011841Libyan ArabsLibya2,810,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsPG033521Libyan ArabsItaly42,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
LibyansPG042348LibyansSpain1,100Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
LibyansPG047314LibyansUnited States11,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsPG047409Libyan ArabsCanada9,900Engaged yet UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsPG048738Libyan ArabsTunisia317,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan 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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