The Kanam of Nigeria

The Kanam of Nigeria, numbering approximately 3,800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria. They mostly adhere to Animism and Koenoem is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Koenoem (kcs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 3,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013922
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kanam 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Koenoem
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Koenoem Speakers

Media Resources in Koenoem:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Koenoem:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Koenoem bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kanam 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 Kanam:
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 Kanam of Nigeria

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
read2 Corinthians 12:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties, having hope because Christ's power is made perfect in their weakness.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Koenoem Across Countries (ROP3 - 105079) 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.

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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