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

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Bedouin ArabsBedouin ArabsSaudi Arabia1,440,000Engaged yet UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsSyria1,495,000Unengaged and 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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