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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen

The Northern Yemeni Arabs of Yemen, numbering approximately 13,710,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are the largest Arab ethnolinguistic population in Yemen, native to the northern highlands, northeastern deserts, and the area around Ṣanʿāʾ, the capital. They are commonly referred to as Sanaani Arabs Sanaani Arabs They are an Indigenous people, in the Arab, Yemeni people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Arabic, Sanaani.

Northern Yemeni Arabs in United States photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Northern Yemeni Arab

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Yemen
People Cluster: Arab, Yemeni
Primary Language(s): Arabic, Sanaani (ayn)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 13,710,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012284
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Pray for the Northern 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Arabic, Sanaani
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Arabic, Sanaani Speakers

Media Resources in Arabic, Sanaani:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Arabic, Sanaani:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Arabic, Sanaani bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Northern Yemeni Arabs

The Northern Yemeni Arabs are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Northern Yemeni Arabs

The Northern 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.

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

Next steps for the Northern Yemeni Arabs

The Northern Yemeni Arabs are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Northern 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.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Arab, Northern Yemeni (ROP3 - 108627) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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