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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yoruba of Nigeria

The Yoruba of Nigeria, numbering approximately 47,740,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to Yorubaland, an are that spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and can also be known as Oyo, Ijebu, Anago. They are an Indigenous people, in the Yoruba people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism. They primarily speak Yoruba.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Kerry Olson Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Yoruba (yor)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 47,740,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014193

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Pray for the Yoruba of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Neo-Pentec… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yoruba
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Yoruba Speakers

Media Resources in Yoruba:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Yoruba:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Yoruba

The Yoruba are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Yoruba

The Yoruba 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.

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

Next steps for the Yoruba

The Yoruba 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Yoruba of Nigeria

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Yoruba reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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