The Shaikia of Sudan

The Shaikia of Sudan, numbering approximately 1,425,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a tribal subgroup of Baggara Arabs along the Nile river in northern Sudan They are an Indigenous people, with Shaikia as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Arab, Sudan people cluster of the Arab Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Sudanese Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Sudan
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Sudanese Arabic (apd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,425,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042846
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Shaikia of Sudan

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: Sudanese Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Sudanese Speakers

Media Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sudanese Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sharif (Sudanese) Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Sudanese Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Shaikia 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 Shaikia:
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 Shaikia of Sudan

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Shaikia Across Countries (ROP3 - 108900) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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