The Dong of Nigeria

The Dong of Nigeria, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria They are an Indigenous people, with Dong (Sudanic) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Dong.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Dong (doh)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013744
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Dong 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

59%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dong
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Dong Speakers

Media Resources in Dong:

Films:

No entries found for: Dong(doh). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Dong:

Or check out the Dong bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Dong:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dong 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 Dong:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Dong 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 Dong:
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 Dong of Nigeria

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Dong Across Countries (ROP3 - 102704) reported in the following countries:

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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