The Zaghawa of Chad

The Zaghawa of Chad, numbering approximately 232,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large ethnic sub-group of the Beri (Kige), a semi-nomadic community indigenous to southwestern Libya, northeastern Chad, and western Sudan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Zaghawa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Zaghawa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Zaghawa (zag)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 232,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011470
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Zaghawa of Chad

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

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zaghawa
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Zaghawa Speakers

Media Resources in Zaghawa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Zaghawa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Zaghawa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Zaghawa 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 Zaghawa:
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 Zaghawa of Chad

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
readIsaiah 53:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find comfort and spiritual healing as they remember the wounds of Christ, who understands their suffering because He also walked through suffering on their behalf.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Zaghawa Across Countries (ROP3 - 111134) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ZaghawaZaghawaSudan268,000Engaged yet UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaChad232,000Engaged yet UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaLibya11,500Unengaged and UnreachedZaghawaSunni Islam
ZaghawaZaghawaUnited States250Unengaged and UnreachedZaghawaSunni 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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