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The Yerwa Kanuri of Niger

The Yerwa Kanuri of Niger, numbering approximately 239,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Kanuri ethnic group indigenous to the Borno and Yobe states of northeastern Nigeria. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Central Kanuri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Niger
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Central Kanuri (knc)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 239,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013614
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Pray for the Yerwa Kanuri of Niger

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kanuri
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Kanuri, Yerwa Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kanuri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kanuri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Bible Society of Nigeria✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kanuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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 Yerwa Kanuri:
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

Pray specifically for the Yerwa Kanuri of Niger

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Yerwa KanuriPG014188Yerwa KanuriNigeria8,770,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
KanuriPG012059KanuriSudan498,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriSunni Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG011469Yerwa KanuriChad293,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG013614Yerwa KanuriNiger239,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG012815Yerwa KanuriCameroon192,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam

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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