The Sudanese Arabs of Sudan

The Sudanese Arabs of Sudan, numbering approximately 15,850,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are 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 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: 15,850,000
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

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!"
readMark 7:9

Pray that as men, women, boys, and girls place their faith in Christ, they will let go of any traditions that do not honor Him.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsChad376,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsCanada22,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited States52,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsOman23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsItaly5,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsYemen586,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsUnited Arab Emirates85,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSudan15,850,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsSaudi Arabia478,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsQatar56,500Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsLibya257,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsFrance3,300Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEthiopia267,000Engaged yet UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEritrea33,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsEgypt4,330,000Unengaged and UnreachedSudanese ArabicSunni Islam
Sudanese ArabsSudanese ArabsNetherlands7,700Unengaged 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.

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