The Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia

The Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia, numbering approximately 1,440,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Arabic-speaking tribal people of the Middle East and North Africa, historically organized around pastoralism, seasonal mobility, and patrilineal kinship. Tribal identity and pastoral heritage remain important cultural markers. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Najdi Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Saudi Arabia
People Cluster: Bedouin, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Najdi Arabic (ars)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,440,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011914
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Najdi Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Najdi Speakers

Media Resources in Najdi Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
The SaviorView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Najdi Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Najdi Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bedouin 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 Bedouin 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 Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
readActs 4:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak God's Word with boldness, sharing the love of Jesus with those around them.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Arab, Bedouin Across Countries (ROP3 - 101193) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsSyria1,495,000Unengaged and UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Bedouin ArabsBedouin ArabsSaudi Arabia1,440,000Engaged yet UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Bedouin ArabsBedouin ArabsJordan1,370,000Unengaged and UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsIraq2,005,000Unengaged and UnreachedNajdi 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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