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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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The Maxi of Benin

The Maxi of Benin, numbering approximately 458,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mahi people of central Benin whose identity formed as diverse communities between the Ouémé River and Dassa Hills united in resistance to Dahomey expansion; they later established their own kingdoms. They mostly adhere to Animism and Maxi Gbe is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Guinean
Primary Language(s): Maxi Gbe (mxl)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 458,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012337
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Pray for the Maxi 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

70%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maxi Gbe
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Gbe, Maxi Speakers

Media Resources in Maxi Gbe:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maxi Gbe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maxi Gbe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Maxi 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 Maxi:
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 Maxi of Benin

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
readHebrews 10:35

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hold unswervingly to their faith and to their confidence in Christ, which has a great reward.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Maxi Gbe Across Countries (ROP3 - 106039) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MaxiPG012337MaxiBenin458,000Engaged yet UnreachedMaxi GbeAnimism
MaxiPG014408MaxiTogo66,500Engaged yet UnreachedMaxi GbeProtestantism

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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