The Black Africans of United Arab Emirates

The Black Africans of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Swahili ethnolinguistic community of the East African coast. They speak Swahili, are predominantly Muslim, and maintain a distinct maritime culture shaped by African, Arab, and Indian Ocean connections. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Swahili (individual language) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Bantu, Swahili
Primary Language(s): Swahili (individual language) (swh)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 31,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012226
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Black Africans of United Arab Emirates

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Swahili (individual language)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Swahili Speakers

Media Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Habari Njema (Interconfessional)✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Swahili (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Black Africans 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 Black Africans:
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 Black Africans of United Arab Emirates

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Swahili Across Countries (ROP3 - 109644) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

17 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
SwahiliSwahiliUganda5,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliUnited States82,000No Longer UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliCanada9,300Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Coastal SwahiliCoastal SwahiliKenya60,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliZambia39,000No Longer UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Ethnoreligion
SwahiliSwahiliSeychelles600Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliMozambique18,500Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Folk Islam
SwahiliSwahiliMayotte10,500Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliComoros1,200Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Arabized AfricansArabized AfricansSaudi Arabia555,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Coastal SwahiliCoastal SwahiliTanzania1,095,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliRwanda21,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Central SwahiliCentral SwahiliCongo, Democratic Republic of the64,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliBurundi14,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Black AfricansBlack AfricansUnited Arab Emirates31,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliSudan34,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Bantu SwahiliBantu SwahiliSomalia55,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni 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