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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nuer of South Sudan

The Nuer of South Sudan, numbering approximately 1,765,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Nuer, a Nilotic ethnic group concentrated in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan They are an Indigenous people, with Nuer as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Nilotic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is African Traditional Religion. They primarily speak Nuer.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nuer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Nuer (nus)
Primary Religion(s): African Traditional Religion
Population: 1,765,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046788
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Pray for the Nuer of South Sudan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: African Traditional Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
African Traditional Relig… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nuer
Language Family: Nilotic

100%
%
Nuer Speakers

Media Resources in Nuer:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nuer:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nuer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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, Concentrated CP Activity (GSEC: 2), this people group is less than 2% evangelical but there has been initial or concentrated church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Nuer:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nuer 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 Nuer:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nuer 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 Nuer:
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 Nuer of South Sudan

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Nuer, Naath Across Countries (ROP3 - 106990) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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