Arabs of South Africa (PGID: PG015486)

The Arabs of South Africa

The Arabs of South Africa, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are No Longer 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 Standard Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Standard Arabic (arb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015486

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Pray for the Arabs of South Africa

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.

Pray Now!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%

Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Standard Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%

Arabic, Standard Speakers

Media Resources in Standard Arabic:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
The Savior	View Film
The Savior	View Film

6 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Standard Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
Easy to Read Version		✓	✓
Good News Version		✓
Sharif (Iraqi) Version	✓	✓	✓
Sharif Version	✓	✓	✓
Standard Arabic (Gulf)		✓
Van Dyke Version - multi voice	✓	✓	✓
Van Dyke Version - single voice	✓	✓	✓

7 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Standard Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Arabs 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.

Next steps for the Arabs:

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people

Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting

Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Arabs of South Africa

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
Matthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Luke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

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

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

23 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country ▼	Population	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG014900	Arabs	Tanzania	509,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Swahili (individual language)	Sunni Islam
PG000580	Arabs	Switzerland	75,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG015486	Arabs	South Africa	16,000	No Longer Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG006321	Arabs	Pakistan	248,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG018478	Arabs	New Zealand	10,000	No Longer Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000374	Arabs	Malta	10,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG042248	Arabs	Maldives	750	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG018465	Arabs	Malaysia	18,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG014761	Arabs	Kenya	57,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Swahili (individual language)	Sunni Islam
PG016383	Arabs	Jamaica	2,100	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG041734	Arabs	India	62,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG047072	Arabs	Greece	34,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG013266	Arabs	Ghana	3,300	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011545	Arabs	Ethiopia	13,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000078	Arabs	Denmark	96,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG014477	Arabs	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	32,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG015270	Arabs	Comoros	900	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG014463	Arabs	Burundi	3,800	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG016532	Arabs	Brazil	492,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG016194	Arabs	Barbados	150	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000004	Arabs	Austria	101,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG007830	Arabs	Australia	161,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG017321	Arabs	Argentina	1,580,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Spanish	Sunni 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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