The Kotoko of Cameroon

The Kotoko of Cameroon, numbering approximately 25,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Chadic river people of Cameroon's Logone basin whose Lagwan-speaking kingdom once assimilated smaller states including Kousseri, Logone-Birni, Makari, and Mara before converting to Islam and being absorbed into the Bornu Empire in the 19th century. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Lagwan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cameroon
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Lagwan (kot)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 25,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012650
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kotoko of Cameroon

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lagwan
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Lagwan Speakers

Media Resources in Lagwan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Lagwan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Lagwan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kotoko 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 Kotoko:
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 Kotoko of Cameroon

That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:27

Pray that those who don't yet know Christ will search diligently for God and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

Kotoko-Logone Across Countries (ROP3 - 105271) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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.

Scroll to Top