The Akyem of Ghana

The Akyem of Ghana, numbering approximately 1,075,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Akan people whose name derives from Okyem, meaning leopard, tracing origin to Adanse before founding Akyem Abuakwa by the 1500s, which dominated the gold-rich Birim River trade before wars with the Akwamu and Asante split Akyem into three states. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Akan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Ghana
People Cluster: Guinean
Primary Language(s): Akan (aka)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 1,075,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013259
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Akyem of Ghana

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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Akan
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Akan Speakers

Media Resources in Akan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Akan:

Or check out the Akan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Akyem 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 Akyem:
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 Akyem of Ghana

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:5

While there are many who do not yet praise God, pray that He will work in their lives, advance the gospel among them, and bring many to saving faith in Christ.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Akyem Across Countries (ROP3 - 114917) 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.

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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