Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Bariba of Benin

The Bariba of Benin, numbering approximately 1,270,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West African people of northeastern Benin and northwestern Nigeria who share the Bariba language and a common heritage linked to the historic Borgu kingdoms, with cultural traditions rooted in agriculture, trade, and horsemanship. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Baatonum is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Baatonum (bba)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 1,270,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012302
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Bariba of Benin

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

65%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Baatonum
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

95%
%
Baatonum Speakers

Media Resources in Baatonum:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Baatonum:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1996 Bible Society of Benin✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Baatonum bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bariba 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 Bariba:
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 Bariba of Benin

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
read1 John 4:10

Pray for those without the hope of Christ to understand the depth of God's love and the sacrifice He made for them.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Bariba Across Countries (ROP3 - 100685) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BaribaPG012302BaribaBenin1,270,000No Longer UnreachedBaatonumFolk Islam
BaribaPG013671BaribaNigeria225,000Engaged yet UnreachedBaatonumFolk Islam
BaribaPG012372BaribaBurkina Faso31,500No Longer UnreachedBaatonumFolk Islam
BaribaPG014319BaribaTogo29,000No Longer UnreachedBaatonumFolk Islam

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