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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

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.
readPsalm 105:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember His wonders, miracles, and perfect judgements.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

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