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The Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso

The Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 118,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Gurunsi people of southern Burkina Faso who migrated north from Ghana with the Winiama at the end of the 1400s ahead of Mossi cavalry, whose advance was blocked by tsetse-infested bush that killed the horses, known for vividly colored ceremonial masks. They mostly adhere to Animism and Northern Nuni is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nuna, Northern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Northern Nuni (nuv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 118,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012433
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Pray for the Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso

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

62%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Nuni
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nuni, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Nuni:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Northern Nuni:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Northern Nuni bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Northern Nuna 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 Northern Nuna:
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 Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow strong in His power, putting on the full armor of God, which will enable them to stand against the devil’s lies.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Nuna, Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 107507) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Northern NunaPG012433Northern NunaBurkina Faso118,000No Longer UnreachedNorthern NuniAnimism

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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