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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bata of Cameroon

The Bata of Cameroon, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Gbwata community of northern Cameroon, with settlements along the Nigerian border and the Benue River; their Bata language belongs to the Central Chadic Bata group and has Demsa, Kokoumi, Faro, and Ndeewe varieties. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bata is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cameroon
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Bata (bta)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012527
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Pray for the Bata of Cameroon

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bata
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Bata Speakers

Media Resources in Bata:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bata:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bata bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bata 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 Bata:
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 Bata of Cameroon

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Bata Across Countries (ROP3 - 101119) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
BataPG012527BataCameroon16,000No Longer UnreachedBataSunni Islam
BataPG013677BataNigeria343,000No Longer UnreachedBataAnimism

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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