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

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

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.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

23 people groups

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

Scroll to Top