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The Gurma of Benin

The Gurma of Benin, numbering approximately 145,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Gur-speaking people whose ancestors migrated from the Gambaga Scarp of northeastern Ghana alongside the related Mossi, Konkomba, and Tallensi, founding the Fada N'Gourma kingdom whose Gurma-Naba title survived under French colonial rule. They mostly adhere to Animism and Gourmanchéma is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Gourmanchéma (gux)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 145,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012326
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Pray for the Gurma 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gourmanchéma
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Gourmanchéma Speakers

Media Resources in Gourmanchéma:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gourmanchéma:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2003 Alliance Biblique du Burkina Faso✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gourmanchéma bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Gurma:
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

Pray specifically for the Gurma 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.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

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.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Gurma Across Countries (ROP3 - 103587) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GurmaPG012326GurmaBenin145,000Unengaged and UnreachedGourmanchémaAnimism
GurmaPG012402GurmaBurkina Faso1,250,000No Longer UnreachedGourmanchémaEthnoreligion
GurmaPG013333GurmaGhana1,700,000Engaged yet UnreachedGourmanchémaEthnoreligion
GurmaPG013599GurmaNiger90,000No Longer UnreachedGourmanchémaEthnoreligion
GurmaPG013816GurmaNigeria48,000Engaged yet UnreachedGourmanchémaAnimism
GurmaPG014357GurmaTogo326,000Engaged yet UnreachedGourmanchémaEthnoreligion

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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