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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Zabarmawa of Nigeria

The Zabarmawa of Nigeria, numbering approximately 173,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a diaspora community of Zerma in Nigeria They are an Diaspora people, with Zerma as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Songhai people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Zarma.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Zarma (dje)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 173,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014205
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Pray for the Zabarmawa of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

96%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zarma
Language Family: Songhay

100%
%
Zarma Speakers

Media Resources in Zarma:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Zarma:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1977 Bible Society of Cote d'Ivoire✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Zarma bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Zabarmawa 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 Zabarmawa:
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 Zabarmawa of Nigeria

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal life.

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.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Zerma Across Countries (ROP3 - 111171) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ZermaPG013616ZermaNiger5,135,000Engaged yet UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZabarmawaPG014205ZabarmawaNigeria173,000Engaged yet UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZermaPG012370ZermaBenin14,500Unengaged and UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam
ZermaPG013391ZermaGhana10,500Unengaged and UnreachedZarmaFolk Islam

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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