The Libyan Arabs of Egypt

The Libyan Arabs of Egypt, numbering approximately 1,080,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Bedouin Arab ancestry with a more localized ethnic identity tied to their recent roots in Libya. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Libyan Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arab, Libyan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Egypt
People Cluster: Arab, Libyan
Primary Language(s): Libyan Arabic (ayl)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,080,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011505
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Libyan Arabs of Egypt

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

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Libyan Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Libyan Speakers

Media Resources in Libyan Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Libyan Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2020 Mahabat El-Rahman✓

1 entry

Or check out the Libyan Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Libyan 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 Libyan 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 Libyan Arabs of Egypt

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
readActs 4:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak God's Word with boldness, sharing the love of Jesus with those around them.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

Arab, Libyan Across Countries (ROP3 - 105948) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Libyan ArabsLibyan ArabsLibya2,810,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsLibyan ArabsEgypt1,080,000Engaged yet UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsLibyan ArabsTunisia317,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsLibyan ArabsItaly42,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
LibyansLibyansUnited States11,000Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
Libyan ArabsLibyan ArabsCanada9,900Engaged yet UnreachedLibyan ArabicSunni Islam
LibyansLibyansSpain1,100Unengaged and UnreachedLibyan 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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