If you want to see what the global Church looks like today, look to Africa. In a little over a century the continent has become the centre of world Christianity — and its believers are now carrying the Gospel to the peoples still waiting to hear.
Sub-Saharan Africa at a glance
About 718 million of Sub-Saharan Africa's roughly 1.2 billion people identify as Christian — around 59.8%. The trend: fastest growing. The centre of gravity of world Christianity has moved here — and it is still moving.
In 1900 there were perhaps 9 million Christians in all of Africa. The church's growth since then is one of the great stories of history. But Africa holds both extremes: some of the most Christian nations on earth, and frontier peoples with almost no believers — sometimes in the same country.
Envoys shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
Psalm 68:31 (WEB)
Where God is breaking through
A church that grew roughly 75-fold in a century, now sending workers into the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and the West.
What stands in the way
Nominalism and prosperity teaching where Christianity is culturally dominant, and sustained violence against believers across the Sahel and Nigeria's north and middle belt.
Pray for the nations
Each nation links to its full profile — its church's story, the peoples still unreached, and more ways to pray. The line in italics is one prayer to start with.
- Nigeria — 230 million people · about 46% Christian · 100 of 560 people groups unreached
Pray for Christians in northern and middle-belt Nigeria facing violence. - Ethiopia — 130 million people · about 65% Christian · 54 of 133 people groups unreached
Praise God for a church that has stood in Ethiopia for over 1,600 years. - DR Congo — 110 million people · about 93% Christian · 5 of 250 people groups unreached
Pray for believers in North Kivu and Ituri facing violent attacks. - South Africa — 63 million people · about 80% Christian · 20 of 70 people groups unreached
Thank God for South African churches sending workers across Africa. - Kenya — 56 million people · about 85% Christian · 29 of 115 people groups unreached
Thank God for a Kenyan church that trains and sends across East Africa. - Mali — 24 million people · about 2.5% Christian · 55 of 70 people groups unreached
Pray for believers living under threat in central and northern Mali. - Somalia — 19 million people · about 0.05% Christian · 23 of 25 people groups unreached
Pray for the very small number of Somali believers, at genuine risk of death. - Rwanda — 14 million people · about 93% Christian · 1 of 8 people groups unreached
Pray for Gospel-shaped reconciliation, integrity, and unity across churches and communities.
Pray for the whole region
- Thank God for the largest and fastest-growing Christian population on earth.
- Pray for depth to match breadth — discipleship that outlasts a decision.
- Ask God to protect believers in Nigeria's north, the Sahel and the Horn, where the cost of faith is highest.
- Pray for African workers reaching the Fulani, Somali and other large Muslim peoples of the continent.
Africa as a sending church
African believers are increasingly the ones going — into the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the West. Pray for them to be trained, supported and protected, and for the rest of the global Church to partner with them rather than lead them.
Keep going
- Sub-Saharan Africa — the full region profile, with its story and every nation.
- Pray for the persecuted Church — including Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
- Where do most Christians live? — how the Church moved south.
- Global Prayer Atlas — save nations to your own prayer list.
Regional figures: Pew Research Center and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, rounded. Nation figures are rounded estimates from each profile on this site.
Questions people ask
How many Christians are there in Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa holds about 718 million Christians — roughly 59.8% of its 1.2 billion people, and more than any other region of the world.
Is Christianity growing in Africa?
Yes. Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest-growing region for Christianity, from perhaps 9 million Christians in all of Africa in 1900 to about 718 million in Sub-Saharan Africa today.
Which African countries are least reached?
Among the African nations profiled here, Mali and Somalia are classified as unreached or frontier.
How can I pray for Africa?
Thank God for the church's growth, pray for discipleship deep enough to match it, ask for protection for believers in Nigeria's north, the Sahel and the Horn, and pray for African workers reaching the continent's large unreached peoples.