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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Igala of Nigeria

The Igala of Nigeria, numbering approximately 1,875,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic people of the Niger-Benue confluence in central Nigeria whose identity is rooted in the historic Igala Kingdom centered at Idah and longstanding cultural and political ties across the Middle Belt. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Igala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Igala (igl)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,875,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013842
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Pray for the Igala 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

78%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Igala
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Igala Speakers

Media Resources in Igala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Igala:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1970 Bible Society of Nigeria✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Igala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Igala 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 Igala:
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 Igala of Nigeria

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author 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 the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Igala Across Countries (ROP3 - 103960) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IgalaPG013842IgalaNigeria1,875,000No Longer UnreachedIgalaProtestantism

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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