The Sudanese Arabs of Sudan

The Sudanese Arabs of Sudan, numbering approximately 15,830,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a culturally rich group formed through centuries of admixture between indigenous Africans and Arab immigrants, characterized by their Sunni Muslim faith, Arabic language, and influential role in Sudan's socio-political landscape. They are an Indigenous people, with Arab, Sudanese as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Arab, Sudan people cluster of the Arab Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Sudanese Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Sudan
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Sudanese Arabic (apd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 15,830,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012142
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sudanese Arabs 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

92%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sudanese Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Sudanese Speakers

Media Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sharif (Sudanese) Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Sudanese Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sudanese 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 Sudanese 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 Sudanese Arabs of Sudan

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

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 the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Arab, Sudanese Across Countries (ROP3 - 109571) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

15 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSudan15,830,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEgypt4,325,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsYemen585,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSaudi Arabia477,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEthiopia267,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsLibya257,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited Arab Emirates85,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsQatar56,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited States52,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEritrea33,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsOman23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsCanada22,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsNetherlands7,700Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsItaly5,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsFrance3,300Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese 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.

Scroll to Top