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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bara of Madagascar

The Bara of Madagascar, numbering approximately 1,040,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group of Madagascar whose population today is approaching 375,000 people. They are an Indigenous people, in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Malagasy, Bara.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Malagasy, Bara (bhr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,040,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015293
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Pray for the Bara of Madagascar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malagasy, Bara
Language Family: Austronesian

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Media Resources in Malagasy, Bara:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Malagasy, Bara:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malagasy, Bara bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Bara

The Bara are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Bara

The Bara 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.

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

Next steps for the Bara

The Bara are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bara of Madagascar

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow strong in His power, putting on the full armor of God, which will enable them to stand against the devil’s lies.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Bara (ROP3 - 101030) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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