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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kanuri of Sudan

The Kanuri of Sudan, numbering approximately 492,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Kanuri ethnic group indigenous to the Borno and Yobe states of northeastern Nigeria. They are an Diaspora people, in the Kanuri-Saharan people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Kanuri, Yerwa.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Sudan
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Kanuri, Yerwa (knc)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 492,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012059
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Pray for the Kanuri of Sudan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kanuri, Yerwa
Language Family: Saharan

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Media Resources in Kanuri, Yerwa:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Kanuri, Yerwa:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kanuri, Yerwa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Kanuri

The Kanuri are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Kanuri

The Kanuri 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.

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

Next steps for the Kanuri

The Kanuri 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kanuri of Sudan

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
readLamentations 3:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the goodness of the Lord as they wait on Him to answer their cries for help.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Kanuri, Yerwa (ROP3 - 104605) 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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