The Yoruba of Nigeria

The Yoruba of Nigeria, numbering approximately 48,550,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a West African ethnic group indigenous to Yorubaland, an are that spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo They are an Indigenous people, with Yoruba as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Yoruba people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Neo-Pentecostalism. They primarily speak Yoruba.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Yoruba (yor)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 48,550,000
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
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yoruba 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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yoruba
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Yoruba Speakers

Media Resources in Yoruba:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Yoruba:

3 entries

Or check out the Yoruba bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

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.

Next steps for the Yoruba:
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 Yoruba of Nigeria

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that they will receive the Word of God as a lamp to their feet and commit their ways to Him.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Yoruba Across Countries (ROP3 - 111095) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YorubaYorubaNigeria48,550,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaGhana528,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaBenin263,000Engaged yet UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaYorubaUnited States152,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaYorubaCote d’Ivoire149,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaTogo143,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaEquatorial Guinea129,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaYorubaNiger89,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaBurkina Faso84,500No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaCanada10,500No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaSierra Leone7,400No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism

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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