The Saudi Arabs of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabs of Saudi Arabia, numbering approximately 13,010,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Arabic-speaking people of the Arabian Peninsula whose cultural identity is rooted in tribal history, Islamic traditions, and strong kinship networks. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Najdi Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Saudi Arab

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Saudi Arabia
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Najdi Arabic (ars)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 13,010,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046419
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Saudi Arabs of Saudi Arabia

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

90%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Najdi Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Najdi Speakers

Media Resources in Najdi Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
The SaviorView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Najdi Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Najdi Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Saudi Arabs 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 Saudi Arabs:
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 Saudi Arabs of Saudi Arabia

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that the lost will not perish but come to repentance and that God's patience and long-suffering will lead them to salvation.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember God's mercy and grace and experience joy as they walk in new life with Christ.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Arab, Najdi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101196) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsOman60,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsKuwait382,000Unengaged and UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsCanada20,000Engaged yet UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Najdi ArabsNajdi ArabsUnited States79,500Unengaged and UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni Islam
Saudi ArabsSaudi ArabsSaudi Arabia13,010,000Engaged yet UnreachedNajdi ArabicSunni 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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