South Sudan

Country: South Sudan

Number of People Groups

People Groups Unreached

7 (9.0%)

Progress Level

The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an estimate of the progress of church planting among a people group, people cluster, country or language. The Progress Scale is derived from people group values for percent Evangelical and percent Christian Adherent.

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Total
Population

11,153,000

Population in Unreached

506,000 (4.5%)

Largest Religion

Christianity (58.3%)

% Christian Adherent

58.3%

% Evangelical

11.27%

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

0.0%

(Global Rate = 2.6%)

Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼

Progress Scale: ●●●●●
☀
= Frontier peoples
People Group ▲	Population this Country	Global Population	Indigenous	Primary Language	Primary Religion	Progress Scale	% Christian Adherent	% Evangelical	Est. Workers Needed *
Acholi, Shuli	55,000	1,967,000		Acholi	Christianity	5 ●	89.00 %	15.00 %	-1 -
Ageer	25,000	25,000	●	Dinka, Northeastern	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	15.00 %	1.50 %	-1 -
Aja, Ajagbe	300	300	●	Gbaya	Islam	2 ●	6.00 %	2.00 %	-1 -
Anuak	82,000	241,000	●	Anuak	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Arab, Mongallese	71,000	71,000	●	Arabic, Sudanese Creole	Islam	1 ●	2.00 %	0.20 %	1
Arab, Sudanese	383,000	17,276,000	●	Arabic, Sudanese Spoken	Islam	1 ●	2.00 %	0.40 %	8
Avukaya	47,000	109,000	●	Avokaya	Christianity	4 ●	65.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Azande	676,000	2,773,000		Zande	Christianity	5 ●	85.00 %	25.00 %	-1 -
Bai, Bari	7,200	7,200	●	Bai	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Banda, Mid-Southern	2,900	137,000		Banda, Mid-Southern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Banda, Togbo-Vara	2,300	53,000		Banda, Togbo-Vara	Islam	2 ●	10.00 %	1.50 %	-1 -
Banda, West Central	6,300	13,000		Banda, West Central	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	18.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Banda-Banda	4,100	140,000		Banda-Banda	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Banda-Mbres	8,200	67,000		Banda-Mbres	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	35.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Banda-Ndele	1,900	51,000		Banda-Ndele	Christianity	5 ●	60.00 %	11.00 %	-1 -
Bari	481,000	634,000	●	Bari	Christianity	4 ●	95.00 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Belanda Bor	16,000	16,000	●	Belanda Bor	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	16.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Beli, Jur Beli	62,000	62,000	●	Beli	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	40.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Biykol	600	600	●	Komo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	10.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Bongo	13,000	13,000	●	Bongo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	45.00 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Bug, Mangayat	700	700	●	Gbaya	Islam	4 ●	20.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Buldit	5,100	5,100	●	T'apo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Chinese, general	1,700	15,378,000		Chinese, Mandarin	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	20.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Daasanach	4,700	99,000	●	Daasanach	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	3.00 %	1.00 %	1
Deaf	108,000	47,601,000	●	Language unknown	Christianity	3 ●	60.50 %	-1	-1 -
Dhr Thuri, Wada	7,500	7,500	●	Thuri	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Di'dinga, Xaroxa	63,000	63,000	●	Didinga	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	18.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, Central	56,000	56,000	●	Dinka, South Central	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	9.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, Northeastern	757,000	757,000	●	Dinka, Northeastern	Christianity	5 ●	80.00 %	17.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, Northwestern	79,000	79,000	●	Dinka, Northwestern	Christianity	5 ●	65.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, South Central	666,000	666,000	●	Dinka, South Central	Christianity	4 ●	80.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, Southeastern	239,000	241,000	●	Dinka, Southeastern	Christianity	5 ●	75.00 %	18.00 %	-1 -
Dinka, Southwestern	2,973,000	2,973,000	●	Dinka, Southwestern	Christianity	5 ●	79.00 %	16.00 %	-1 -
Dongotono	4,800	4,800	●	Dongotono	Christianity	3 ●	95.00 %	2.00 %	-1 -
Gweri, Mo'da	1,400	1,400	●	Mo'da	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Homa	4,600	4,600	●	Arabic, Sudanese Spoken	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Indri, Yanderika	1,300	1,300	●	Indri	Islam	4 ●	25.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Ingessana, Gaam	28,000	141,000		Gaam	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	1.00 %	0.80 %	1
Jumjum	6,700	92,000	●	Jumjum	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	12.00 %	2.50 %	-1 -
Jur Modo	113,000	115,000	●	Jur Modo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Kakwa, Bari Kakwa	93,000	362,000		Kakwa	Christianity	4 ●	65.00 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Kaligi, Feroge	17,000	17,000	●	Feroge	Islam	4 ●	20.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Kaliko	25,000	57,000	●	Keliko	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Koguru	500	2,600		Zande	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	40.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Komo	3,800	27,000	●	Komo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Kresh, Kparla	15,000	17,000	●	Gbaya	Islam	4 ●	17.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Kuku	198,000	246,000		Kuku	Christianity	4 ●	75.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Kuku, Bari	32,000	32,000	●	Bari	Christianity	4 ●	70.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Lafon, Pari	50,000	50,000	●	Pari	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	12.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Langgo	40,000	40,000	●	Lango	Christianity	5 ●	55.00 %	11.00 %	-1 -
Lokoya, Owoi	53,000	53,000	●	Lokoya	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Lopid, Lafit	73,000	73,000	●	Lopit	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Lotuho, Latuka	196,000	196,000	●	Otuho	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	45.00 %	7.50 %	-1 -
Luwo	162,000	162,000	●	Luwo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	35.00 %	10.00 %	-1 -
Ma'adi	21,000	478,000		Ma'di	Christianity	5 ●	86.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Maaban	73,000	78,000	●	Mabaan	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Mondari, Chir	67,000	67,000	●	Mandari	Christianity	4 ●	75.00 %	9.00 %	-1 -
Morokodo, Ma'di	48,000	48,000	●	Morokodo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	15.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Moru, Kala Moru	144,000	147,000	●	Moru	Christianity	4 ●	70.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Mundu	47,000	54,000	●	Mundu	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Murle	123,000	125,000	●	Murle	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	10.00 %	1.50 %	-1 -
Narim, Lariminit	7,300	7,300	●	Narim	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	2.20 %	-1 -
Ndogo	19,000	26,000	●	Ndogo	Christianity	4 ●	55.00 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Njalgulgule	2,200	2,200	●	Njalgulgule	Islam	1 ●	4.00 %	1.00 %	1
Nuer	1,802,000	2,076,000	●	Nuer	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Nyamusa-Molo	1,600	1,600	●	Nyamusa-Molo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	18.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Nyangatom	12,000	53,000	●	Nyangatom	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	3.50 %	2.00 %	1
Olubogo, Ondoe Luloba	21,000	24,000	●	Olu'bo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	40.00 %	2.50 %	-1 -
Opo	3,300	6,200		T'apo	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	10.00 %	2.00 %	-1 -
Reel, Atwot	73,000	73,000	●	Reel	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Shilluk, Dhocolo	361,000	367,000	●	Shilluk	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	40.00 %	11.00 %	-1 -
Suri, Kacipo-Balesi	4,800	8,200	●	Kacipo-Balesi	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	3.00 %	2.00 %	1
Tara Baaka, Mbaka	39,000	42,000	●	Baka	Christianity	4 ●	65.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Tennet	9,600	9,600	●	Tennet	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	8.00 %	2.00 %	-1 -
Toposa	196,000	274,000	●	Toposa	Christianity	3 ●	90.00 %	0.30 %	-1 -
Uduk	4,500	53,000	●	Uduk	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Viri, Belanda Viri	46,000	46,000	●	Belanda Viri	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Yulu	2,900	20,000		Yulu	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Totals: 78	11,153,000					7 ●	58.29 %	11.27 %	14
Unclassified / Other Individuals	41,000
UN Country Population (2020)	11,194,000

Other minor groups: 3

Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Some may not be viable and/or have incorrect Progress Scale values, population, language and religion information. The groups listed below are not included in overall Joshua Project people group counts. If you have information about these groups, please contact us.

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
People Group ▲	Progress Scale	Population	Primary Language	Primary Religion
Berti	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Arabic, Sudanese Spoken	Islam
Fulani, Ambororo	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Fulfulde, Adamawa	Islam
Me'en, Mekan	4 ●	-1 Unknown	Meen	Ethnic Religions
Totals: 3

For more information see the Joshua Project Small Group Policy

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups by country. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker for every 50,000 individuals living in an unreached people group by country. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
States ▲	Estimated Population
Central Equatoria	1,466,000
Eastern Equatoria	1,184,000
Jungoli	1,775,000
Lakes	962,000
North Bahr-al-Ghazal	1,009,000
Unity	793,000
Upper Nile	1,246,000
Warap	1,283,000
West Bahr-al-Ghazal	441,000
West Equatoria	810,000
States: 10	10,969,000
UN Country Population	11,194,000

South Sudan Prayer Cards
	South Sudan prayer cards. All Unreached

South Sudan Links
World Factbook
God Reports (stories from the field)
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing

South Sudan Maps
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Class ▲	Population	% Popl	% Hindu	% Muslim	% Christian	% Buddhist	% Sikh	% Other
Forward Caste (FC)	287,717,000	2,579.7 %	97.3 %	0.0 %	1.1 %	0.1 %	0.0 %	1.5 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	765,974,000	6,867.9 %	70.6 %	24.5 %	1.7 %	0.1 %	2.3 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	205,728,000	1,844.6 %	93.5 %	0.0 %	0.5 %	3.4 %	2.6 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	114,522,000	1,026.8 %	81.9 %	1.5 %	9.2 %	0.8 %	0.0 %	6.7 %
	11,153,000

Why Use Caste to Define Peoples?

South Asia Communities / Castes: An Overview

A History of South Asia People Group Lists

Why Include Religion When Defining South Asia Peoples?

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Progress Scale

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples Primary Language	# Unreached Primary Language	Scripture Status	NT Text Online	NT Audio Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Acholi	ach	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Anuak	anu	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Arabic, Sudanese Creole	pga	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Arabic, Sudanese Spoken	apd	2	1	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Avokaya	avu	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Bai	bdj	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Baka	bdh	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Banda, Mid-Southern	bjo	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Banda, Togbo-Vara	tor	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Banda, West Central	bbp	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Banda-Banda	bpd	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Banda-Mbres	bqk	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Banda-Ndele	bfl	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Bari	bfa	2	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Belanda Bor	bxb	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Belanda Viri	bvi	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Beli	blm	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Bongo	bot	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Chinese, Mandarin	cmn	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Daasanach	dsh	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Didinga	did	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Dinka, Northeastern	dip	2	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Dinka, Northwestern	diw	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Dinka, South Central	dib	2	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Dinka, Southeastern	dks	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	-1	1	-1
Dinka, Southwestern	dik	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	1
Dongotono	ddd	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Feroge	fer	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Gaam	tbi	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Gbaya	krs	3	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Indri	idr	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Jumjum	jum	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Jur Modo	bex	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Kacipo-Balesi	koe	1	1	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kakwa	keo	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Keliko	kbo	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Komo	xom	2	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kuku	ukv	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Lango	lno	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	-1	1
Lokoya	lky	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Lopit	lpx	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Luwo	lwo	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Ma'di	mhi	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Mabaan	mfz	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Mandari	mqu	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Mo'da	gbn	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Morokodo	mgc	1	0	3 Bible Portions	1	-1	-1	1	-1
Moru	mgd	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	1
Mundu	muh	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Murle	mur	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Narim	loh	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Ndogo	ndz	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Njalgulgule	njl	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Nuer	nus	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	1
Nyamusa-Molo	nwm	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Nyangatom	nnj	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Olu'bo	lul	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Otuho	lot	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Pari	lkr	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Reel	atu	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Shilluk	shk	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
T'apo	lgn	2	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Tennet	tex	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Thuri	thu	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Toposa	toq	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Uduk	udu	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Unknown	xxx	1	0	Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Yulu	yul	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Zande	zne	2	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Totals:	69	78	7		13	28	34	53	6

MAJOR RELIGIONS ▲	Percent
Buddhism	0.0 %
Christianity (Evangelical 11.3 %)	58.3 %
Ethnic Religions	34.6 %
Hinduism	0.0 %
Islam	6.9 %
Non-Religious	0.3 %
Other / Small Religions	0.0 %
Unknown	0.0 %

CHRISTIAN SEGMENTS ▲	Percent
Anglican	13.9 %
Independent	4.2 %
Orthodox	0.0 %
Other Christian	0.0 %
Protestant	22.7 %
Roman Catholic	56.1 %

Notes:

Major Religions: Religion percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each religion, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total population to derive the religion's percentage.

Christianity Segments: Christian segment percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all the people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each segment of Christianity, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total number of Christians to derive the Christian segment's percentage.

Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in South Sudan. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

Church planting agencies in South Sudan
Christian ministry in South Sudan
Business as mission
Christian literature distribution
Evangelism agencies
Christian discipleship
Short term Christian missions

Long term Christian missions
Urban ministries
Christian media opportunities
Bible translation opportunities
Relief and development agencies
Clean water projects
Christian medical outreaches

South Sudan Statistics
People Groups	78
Unreached People Groups	7 (9.0%)
Population	11,153,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	2.9%
Population in Unreached	506,000 (4.5%)
Primary Religion	Christianity
Percent Christian Adherent	58.3%
Percent Evangelical	11.3%
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	0.0%
Pioneer Workers Needed *	14
Country Progress Level	5 ●
Urbanization	20%
Continent	Africa
Region	Africa, East and Southern
10/40 Window	No
Country Code	OD
Official Language(s)	English \| Arabic, Sudanese Spoken
Literacy Rate	27%
Estimated Illiterate Population	8,142,000
Persecution Ranking	Not ranked

South Sudan Prayer Cards
	South Sudan prayer cards. All Unreached

South Sudan Links
World Factbook
God Reports (stories from the field)
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing

South Sudan Maps
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

South Sudan Videos
South Sudan Prayercast Video

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