The Nago of Benin

The Nago of Benin, numbering approximately 450,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Yoruba subgroup of southeastern Benin also called Anago, historically tied to the Kingdom of Ketu founded by descendants of Oduduwa, whose name entered European records through Spanish and Portuguese slave-trade documentation of the Bight of Benin. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Southern Nago is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Southern Nago (nqg)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 450,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012344
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Nago 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

66%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Nago
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nago, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Nago:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Southern Nago:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Southern Nago bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nago 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 Nago:
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 Nago of Benin

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
readPsalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
read2 Corinthians 5:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will understand and experience the truth that in Christ, they are a new creation, and the old has gone and the new has come.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Nago Across Countries (ROP3 - 107016) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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