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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

The Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 353,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a regional branch of the Gbaya, Central Africa's largest ethnic family, who fled Usman dan Fodio's jihad from northern Nigeria in the early nineteenth century under war chief Gazargamu, assimilating peoples they encountered along the way. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Northwest Gbaya is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Gbaya, Northwest

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Northwest Gbaya (gya)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 353,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012833
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Pray for the Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northwest Gbaya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Gbaya, Northwest Speakers

Media Resources in Northwest Gbaya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Northwest Gbaya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1995 Bible Society of Cameroon✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Northwest Gbaya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northwest Gbaya 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 Northwest Gbaya:
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 Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Baya, Gbaya Across Countries (ROP3 - 101166) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GbayaPG012601GbayaCameroon447,000No Longer UnreachedNorthwest GbayaProtestantism
Northwest GbayaPG012833Northwest GbayaCentral African Republic353,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthwest GbayaEthnoreligion
BayaPG011978BayaSudan19,000Unengaged and UnreachedNorthwest GbayaProtestantism
GbayaPG012969GbayaCongo6,300Unengaged and UnreachedNorthwest GbayaEthnoreligion

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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