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.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Goans of United Arab Emirates

The Goans of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 74,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, and Austro-Asiatic ethnic groups who trace their ancestry to the Indian state of Goa during the time when Goa was an overseas province of Portugal They are an Diaspora people, with Goan as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Goan Konkani is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Konkani, Goanese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Goan Konkani (gom)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 74,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012241

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Goans 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Goan Konkani
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Konkani, Goan Speakers

Media Resources in Goan Konkani:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Goan Konkani:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Goan Konkani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Goans 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 Goans:
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 Goans of United Arab Emirates

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

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.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Goan Across Countries (ROP3 - 104844) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GoansPG041474GoansIndia669,000No Longer UnreachedKonkani (individual language)Roman Catholicism
GoansPG006349GoansPakistan81,000No Longer UnreachedGoan KonkaniHinduism
GoansPG012241GoansUnited Arab Emirates74,500Engaged yet UnreachedGoan KonkaniHinduism
GoansPG015378GoansMozambique18,500Engaged yet UnreachedGoan KonkaniRoman Catholicism
GoansPG000635GoansUnited Kingdom12,000Engaged yet UnreachedGoan KonkaniRoman Catholicism
GoansPG050513GoansUnited States7,600Unengaged and UnreachedEnglishRoman Catholicism
GoansPG050393GoansCanada5,300No Longer UnreachedGoan KonkaniRoman 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.

Scroll to Top