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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yungur of Nigeria

The Yungur of Nigeria, numbering approximately 215,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Nigeria's eastern Gongola River valley, related to the Mboi, whose centuries-old tradition of carving wooden effigies of deceased chiefs to petition for rain and harvest survives in objects radiocarbon-dated to more than 500 years old. They mostly adhere to Animism and Bena (Nigeria) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Bena (Nigeria) (yun)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 215,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014199
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Pray for the Yungur 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bena (Nigeria)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bena (Nigeria) Speakers

Media Resources in Bena (Nigeria):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bena (Nigeria):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yungur 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.

Next steps for the Yungur:
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

Pray specifically for the Yungur of Nigeria

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
readRomans 5:1

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many who are far from God will receive the good news of salvation with joy and have peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

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.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Yungur Across Countries (ROP3 - 111122) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YungurPG014199YungurNigeria215,000Engaged yet UnreachedBena (Nigeria)Animism

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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