Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Gulf Arabs of United Arab Emirates

The Gulf Arabs of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 1,360,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Arab people of the Arabian Gulf who speak Gulf Arabic and share a cultural heritage shaped by tribal traditions, kinship networks, maritime commerce, and the historical societies of eastern Arabia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Gulf Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Gulf Arabic (afb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,360,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012238
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Gulf Arabs 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

96%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gulf Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Gulf Speakers

Media Resources in Gulf Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gulf Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gulf Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gulf 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 Gulf 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 Gulf Arabs of United Arab Emirates

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Arab, Gulf Sunni Across Countries (ROP3 - 100427) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Kuwaiti Sunni ArabsPG011792Kuwaiti Sunni ArabsKuwait1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf BedouinsPG042688Gulf BedouinsEgypt1,830,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011691Gulf ArabsIran945,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011890Gulf ArabsOman889,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG011905Gulf ArabsQatar393,000Unengaged and UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG012238Gulf ArabsUnited Arab Emirates1,360,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG012271Gulf ArabsYemen23,000Unengaged and UnreachedHijazi ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG046680Gulf ArabsSaudi Arabia583,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG047300Gulf ArabsUnited States49,500Engaged yet UnreachedGulf ArabicSunni Islam
Gulf ArabsPG047413Gulf ArabsCanada61,000Engaged yet UnreachedGulf 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