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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Zerma of Niger

The Zerma of Niger, numbering approximately 5,190,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Songhai-speaking people of the Niger River valley around Niamey descended from Za dynasty survivors after the Songhai Empire's founding conquest, farming millet, sorghum, and rice as Maliki-Sunni Muslims. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Zarma is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Niger
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Zarma (dje)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 5,190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013616
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Pray for the Zerma of Niger

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zarma
Language Family: Songhay

100%
%
Zarma Speakers

Media Resources in Zarma:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Zarma:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1977 Bible Society of Cote d'Ivoire✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Zarma bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Zerma 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 Zerma:
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 Zerma of Niger

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Zerma Across Countries (ROP3 - 111171) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ZermaPG013616ZermaNiger5,190,000Engaged yet UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZabarmawaPG014205ZabarmawaNigeria175,000Engaged yet UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZermaPG012370ZermaBenin14,500Unengaged and UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZermaPG013391ZermaGhana10,500Unengaged and UnreachedZarmaFolk 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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