Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ayu of Nigeria

The Ayu of Nigeria, numbering approximately 9,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Ninzic-speaking people of Kaduna State's Southern Kaduna region, part of the pattern of local groups tracing origin to migration from the Jos-Bauchi Plateau, their language now classified as endangered and shifting toward more widely spoken neighbors. They mostly adhere to Animism and Ayu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Ayu (ayu)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 9,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013651
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Pray for the Ayu of Nigeria

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ayu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Ayu Speakers

Media Resources in Ayu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ayu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ayu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ayu 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 Ayu:
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 Ayu of Nigeria

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

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.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Ayu Across Countries (ROP3 - 100670) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AyuPG013651AyuNigeria9,400No Longer UnreachedAyuAnimism

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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