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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Eritreans of Italy

The Eritreans of Italy, numbering approximately 25,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a culturally rich and historically significant Semitic-speaking group in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, known for their Tigrinya language, Orthodox Christian traditions, and influential role in the region's history and culture. They mostly adhere to Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity and Tigrinya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Italy
People Cluster: Ethio-Semitic
Primary Language(s): Tigrinya (tir)
Primary Religion(s): Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Population: 25,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049969
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Pray for the Eritreans of Italy

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: Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

66%
%
Tewahedo Orthodox Christi… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tigrinya
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

66%
%
Tigrigna Speakers

Media Resources in Tigrinya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tigrinya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1991 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tigrinya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Eritreans 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 Eritreans:
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 Eritreans of Italy

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 those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread."
readMatthew 6:10-11

As people go about their daily lives, pray they will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus-followers, receive the gospel, and respond with joy. Pray that, as God provides for their daily needs, He will also bring many into His beautiful kingdom.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
readJohn 10:27

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hear God's voice and will have the great assurance that no one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Tigrayan Across Countries (ROP3 - 110050) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TigrayansPG050360TigrayansUnited States60,500Unengaged and UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
EritreansPG050209EritreansSweden57,000Unengaged and UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
TigraiPG042854TigraiSudan65,500Unengaged and UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
EritreansPG049969EritreansItaly25,000Engaged yet UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
EritreansPG042441EritreansGermany61,000Unengaged and UnreachedEnglishTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Tigrai/TigrinyaPG011649Tigrai/TigrinyaEthiopia8,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Tigrai/TigrinyaPG011533Tigrai/TigrinyaEritrea1,795,000Engaged yet UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
TigraiPG011487TigraiDjibouti550Engaged yet UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
TigrinyaPG047405TigrinyaCanada11,000Engaged yet UnreachedTigrinyaTewahedo Orthodox Christianity

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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