The Southwestern Dinka of South Sudan

The Southwestern Dinka of South Sudan, numbering approximately 1,835,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a regional cluster within the Nilotic Dinka whose transhumant cattle-keeping shapes marriage, ritual, and status more than commerce, moving herds between riverine dry-season pastures and savanna settlements each year. They mostly adhere to African Traditional Religion and Southwestern Dinka is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Dinka, Southwestern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Southwestern Dinka (dik)
Primary Religion(s): African Traditional Religion
Population: 1,835,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012009
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Southwestern Dinka of South Sudan

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: African Traditional Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
African Traditional Relig… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southwestern Dinka
Language Family: Nilotic

90%
%
Dinka, Southwestern Speakers

Media Resources in Southwestern Dinka:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Southwestern Dinka:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2006 Bible League Intl.✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Southwestern Dinka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Southwestern Dinka are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Southwestern Dinka:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Southwestern Dinka of South Sudan

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
readPsalm 19:1

Pray that those who are lost will look to the heavens and see the glory of God displayed, leading them to seek Him and know Him as their Creator and Savior.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and suffer for their faith, they will sing for joy and be glad in their hearts because the Lord has compassion on them.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Western Dinka, Rek Across Countries (ROP3 - 110778) 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.

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