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The Bari Kakwa of South Sudan

The Bari Kakwa of South Sudan, numbering approximately 112,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Nilotic ethnic group that is related to the larger Karo people indigenous to northwestern Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kakwa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Kakwa (keo)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 112,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012054
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Pray for the Bari Kakwa 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

55%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kakwa
Language Family: Nilotic

90%
%
Kakwa Speakers

Media Resources in Kakwa:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kakwa:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1977 Bible Society of Uganda ✓ ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kakwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bari Kakwa 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 Bari Kakwa:
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 Bari Kakwa of South Sudan

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them
readMatthew 4:24

Pray that the truth about the Lord will spread throughout the land so that many will have an opportunity to receive the good news and put their faith in Him.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Kakwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104446) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

3 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name ▲ Country Population Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Bari Kakwa PG012054 Bari Kakwa South Sudan 112,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kakwa Protestantism
Bari Kakwa PG039285 Bari Kakwa Congo, Democratic Republic of the 48,000 No Longer Unreached Kakwa Roman Catholicism
Kakwa PG015089 Kakwa Uganda 270,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kakwa Roman Catholicism

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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