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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yerwa Kanuri of Niger

The Yerwa Kanuri of Niger, numbering approximately 238,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a Kanuri ethnic group indigenous to the Borno and Yobe states of northeastern Nigeria They are an Diaspora people, with Kanuri as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Kanuri-Saharan people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Central Kanuri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Niger
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Central Kanuri (knc)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 238,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013614
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Pray for the Yerwa Kanuri 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

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kanuri
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Kanuri, Yerwa Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kanuri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kanuri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Bible Society of Nigeria✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kanuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Yerwa Kanuri:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Yerwa Kanuri of Niger

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
readPsalm 130:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will wait on the Lord and have patience and trust, knowing His ways and His timing are always perfect.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Kanuri, Yerwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104605) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Yerwa KanuriPG012815Yerwa KanuriCameroon191,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG013614Yerwa KanuriNiger238,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG011469Yerwa KanuriChad292,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
KanuriPG012059KanuriSudan497,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriSunni Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG014188Yerwa KanuriNigeria8,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk 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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