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The Gaanda of Nigeria

The Gaanda of Nigeria, numbering approximately 97,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Chadic-speaking people of Nigeria's upper Gongola River valley, comprising four subgroups (Ga'anda proper, Gabun, Boga, and Dingai) and known for a multi-stage Hleeta body-scarification tradition marking a woman's advancing eligibility for marriage. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Ga'anda is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Ga'anda (gqa)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 97,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013786
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Pray for the Gaanda 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

83%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ga'anda
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Ga’anda Speakers

Media Resources in Ga'anda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ga'anda:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ga'anda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gaanda 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 Gaanda:
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 Gaanda of Nigeria

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

"...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.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Ga'anda Across Countries (ROP3 - 103099) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GaandaPG013786GaandaNigeria97,000Engaged yet UnreachedGa'andaEthnoreligion

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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