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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Dendi of Benin

The Dendi of Benin, numbering approximately 345,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnic group with roots in the Sahel Songhai Empire of the 15th and 16th centuries, indigenous to Benin and Nigeria They are an Indigenous people, with Dendi (Dandawa) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Songhai people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Dendi (Benin).

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Dendi (Benin) (ddn)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 345,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012316
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Pray for the Dendi of Benin

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

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dendi (Benin)
Language Family: Songhay

100%
%
Dendi (Benin) Speakers

Media Resources in Dendi (Benin):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dendi (Benin):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2018 Bibles International✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dendi (Benin) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dendi 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 Dendi:
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 Dendi of Benin

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Dendi Across Countries (ROP3 - 102513) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
DendiPG012316DendiBenin345,000Engaged yet UnreachedDendi (Benin)Folk Islam
DendiPG013598DendiNiger157,000Engaged yet UnreachedDendi (Benin)Folk Islam
DendiPG013734DendiNigeria4,100Unengaged and UnreachedDendi (Benin)Folk 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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