The Songhai of Niger

The Songhai of Niger, numbering approximately 1,455,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnolinguistic group linked to te Songhai Empire that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries. They are an Indigenous people in the Songhai people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Songhay, Koyraboro Senni and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Niger
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Songhay, Koyraboro Senni (ses)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,455,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013609

Pray for the Songhai of Niger

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

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Songhay, Koyraboro Senni
Language Family: Songhay

100%
%
Songhay, Koyraboro Senni Speakers

Media Resources in Songhay, Koyraboro Senni:

Films:

Bible Resources in Songhay, Koyraboro Senni:

Or check out the Songhay, Koyraboro Senni bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Songhai:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Songhai 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 Songhai:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Songhai 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 Songhai:
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 Songhai of Niger

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.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

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.

Songhai, Koyraboro Senni Across Countries (ROP3 - 109404) 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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