The Rashaida of Egypt

The Rashaida of Egypt, numbering approximately 46,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a nomadic Bedouin Arab ethnic group inhabiting the coastal plain of the Red Sea, stretching from the Sudanese city of Port Sudan to the Eritrean city of Massawa. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Algerian Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Rashaida

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Egypt
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Algerian Arabic (arq)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 46,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042700

Pray for the Rashaida of Egypt

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: Algerian Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Algerian Speakers

Media Resources in Algerian Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Algerian Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
United Bible Societies✓

1 entry

Or check out the Algerian Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rashaida 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 Rashaida:
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 Rashaida of Egypt

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
readIsaiah 41:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not fear, for the Lord is with them, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold them with His righteous right hand.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Rashaida Across Countries (ROP3 - 108307) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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