The Bekworra of Nigeria

The Bekworra of Nigeria, numbering approximately 219,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Indigenous ethnic group of southeastern Nigeria, located primarily in Cross River State, where they form both an ethnic community and the basis of Bekwarra Local Government Area Bekwarra, Bekwara They are an Indigenous people, with Bekworra (Yakoro) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Bekwarra.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Bekwarra (bkv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 219,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013681
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bekworra 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bekwarra
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bekwarra Speakers

Media Resources in Bekwarra:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bekwarra:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1983 Nigeria Bible Translation Trust

1 entry

Or check out the Bekwarra bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bekworra 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 Bekworra:
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

Pray specifically for the Bekworra of Nigeria

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
readColossians 4:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, as they bring needs before the Lord.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Bekworra Across Countries (ROP3 - 101216) 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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