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The Dera of Nigeria

The Dera of Nigeria, numbering approximately 73,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West Chadic people, also known as Kanakuru, whose homeland centers on Shelleng in Adamawa State, with communities extending into neighboring Borno State. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Dera (Nigeria) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Dera (Nigeria) (kna)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 73,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013736
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Pray for the Dera of Nigeria

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

71%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dera (Nigeria)
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Dera Speakers

Media Resources in Dera (Nigeria):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Dera (Nigeria):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dera (Nigeria) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: No longer Unreached

The Dera are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Dera:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Dera of Nigeria

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Dera, Kanakuru Across Countries (ROP3 - 102526) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
DeraPG013736DeraNigeria73,500No Longer UnreachedDera (Nigeria)Ethnoreligion

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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