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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The South Central Banda of Central African Republic

The South Central Banda of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 288,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a regional branch of the Banda, Central Africa's largest ethnic group, organized into patrilineal hamlets under local headmen and growing maize, cassava, groundnuts, and yams despite historic devastation from nineteenth-century slave raiding. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and South Central Banda is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Banda, South Central

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): South Central Banda (lnl)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 288,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012884

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Pray for the South Central Banda 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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: South Central Banda
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Banda, South Central Speakers

Media Resources in South Central Banda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in South Central Banda:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2020 ACATBA✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the South Central Banda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The South Central Banda 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 South Central Banda:
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 South Central Banda of Central African Republic

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
readPsalm 46:10

Pray that those who do not yet worship Jesus will be still and know that He is God, that He will be exalted among them and in all the earth.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
read1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Pray that God will raise up believers to go to the lost and faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection so that all may have an opportunity to access and believe.

Banda, South Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 119352) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
South Central BandaPG012884South Central BandaCentral African Republic288,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouth Central BandaNeo-Pentecostalism

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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