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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yerwa Kanuri of Cameroon

The Yerwa Kanuri of Cameroon, numbering approximately 189,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kanuri ethnic group indigenous to the Borno and Yobe states of northeastern Nigeria. They are an Diaspora people, in the Kanuri-Saharan people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Folk. They primarily speak Kanuri, Yerwa.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cameroon
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Kanuri, Yerwa (knc)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Folk
Population: 189,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012815
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Pray for the Yerwa Kanuri 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kanuri, Yerwa
Language Family: Saharan

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Media Resources in Kanuri, Yerwa:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kanuri, Yerwa:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kanuri, Yerwa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Yerwa Kanuri

The Yerwa Kanuri are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Yerwa Kanuri

The Yerwa Kanuri 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.

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

Next steps for the Yerwa Kanuri

The Yerwa Kanuri 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Yerwa Kanuri of Cameroon

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:46-47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to fellowship with one another, and to prayer.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Kanuri, Yerwa (ROP3 - 104605) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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