The Arabs of Kenya

The Arabs of Kenya, numbering approximately 57,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diverse ethnolinguistic group whose identity is shaped by a combination of language, culture, history, and geography. Arabs are native to the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, North Africa, and parts of the Horn of Africa. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Swahili (individual language) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Swahili (individual language) (swh)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 57,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014761
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Arabs of Kenya

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Swahili (individual language)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Swahili Speakers

Media Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Habari Njema (Interconfessional)✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Swahili (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The 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 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 Arabs of Kenya

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Arab Across Countries (ROP3 - 100425) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

23 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ArabsArabsArgentina1,580,000Engaged yet UnreachedSpanishSunni Islam
ArabsArabsTanzania508,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
ArabsArabsBrazil491,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsPakistan248,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsAustralia161,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsAustria101,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsDenmark96,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsSwitzerland75,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsIndia62,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsKenya57,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
ArabsArabsGreece34,500Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsCongo, Democratic Republic of the32,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsMalaysia18,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsSouth Africa16,000No Longer UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsEthiopia13,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsMalta10,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsNew Zealand10,000No Longer UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsBurundi3,800Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsGhana3,300Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsJamaica2,100Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsComoros900Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsMaldives750Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
ArabsArabsBarbados150Unengaged and UnreachedStandard 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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