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The Tirma of Ethiopia

The Tirma of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 44,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Surmic-speaking subgroup of the Suri (Surma) people of southwestern Ethiopia. The Tirma are agro-pastoralists whose culture centers on cattle, cultivation, clan organization, and traditions shared with other Suri communities. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Tirmaga-Chai Suri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Tirmaga-Chai Suri (suq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 44,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042737

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Pray for the Tirma of Ethiopia

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tirmaga-Chai Suri
Language Family: Surmic

100%
%
Suri, Tirmaga-Chai Speakers

Media Resources in Tirmaga-Chai Suri:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tirmaga-Chai Suri:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tirmaga-Chai Suri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Tirma:
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

Pray specifically for the Tirma of Ethiopia

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Tirma Across Countries (ROP3 - 110081) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Tirma PG042737 Tirma Ethiopia 44,500 Unengaged and Unreached Tirmaga-Chai Suri Ethnoreligion

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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