The Gumuz of Sudan

The Gumuz of Sudan, numbering approximately 59,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Nilo-Saharan-speaking people of the Blue Nile borderlands who trace their retreat there to displacement by more powerful Amhara and Agaw neighbors, sustaining themselves through shifting cultivation of sorghum. They mostly adhere to Animism and Gumuz is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Gumuz (guk)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 59,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012035
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Gumuz of 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gumuz
Language Family: Gumuz

100%
%
Gumuz Speakers

Media Resources in Gumuz:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Gumuz:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2003 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Gumuz bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gumuz 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 Gumuz:
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 Gumuz of Sudan

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Gumuz Across Countries (ROP3 - 103562) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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