The Seto of Benin

The Seto of Benin, numbering approximately 48,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small Gbe-speaking minority of Benin's Porto-Novo region living alongside the dominant Gun and Yoruba populations in a city the Gun founded as Hogbonu, which rose in the 17th century as capital of the Kingdom of Ajache. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Gun is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Guinean
Primary Language(s): Gun (guw)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 48,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012348
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Seto 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gun
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Gun Speakers

Media Resources in Gun:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Gun:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1987 Bible Society of Benin ✓ ✓

1 entry

Or check out the Gun bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Seto 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 Seto:
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 Seto of Benin

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread."
readMatthew 6:10-11

As people go about their daily lives, pray they will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus-followers, receive the gospel, and respond with joy. Pray that, as God provides for their daily needs, He will also bring many into His beautiful kingdom.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
read1 Corinthians 3:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified in making disciples and be used by God to further His kingdom near and far.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Seto-Gbe Across Countries (ROP3 - 108879) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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