The Southern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen

The Southern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen, numbering approximately 12,190,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Hadhrami Arab people of an ancient South Arabian kingdom that flourished on the incense trade route linking Arabia, Mesopotamia, East Africa, and Rome until its conquest by Saba in the third century AD, later renowned for a far-reaching diaspora. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Yemen
People Cluster: Arab, Yemeni
Primary Language(s): Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic (acq)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 12,190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012274
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Southern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen

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

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Ta’izzi-Adeni Speakers

Media Resources in Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Yemeni 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 Southern Yemeni 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 Southern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Arab, Yemeni Across Countries (ROP3 - 109729) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

13 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Djiboutian ArabsDjiboutian ArabsDjibouti80,500Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicShia Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsEgypt1,085,000Engaged yet UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsOman25,500Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsSaudi Arabia259,000Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsUnited Arab Emirates214,000Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Southern Yemeni ArabsSouthern Yemeni ArabsYemen12,190,000Engaged yet UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsMadagascar63,500Engaged yet UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsEritrea71,000Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsEthiopia40,000Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsKuwait8,500Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsSudan35,000Unengaged and UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicSunni Islam
Yemeni ArabsYemeni ArabsUnited States55,000Engaged yet UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni ArabicShia Islam
Yemini ArabsYemini ArabsCanada7,100Engaged yet UnreachedTa'izzi-Adeni 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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