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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria

The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria, numbering approximately 2,815,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Ijaw-speaking riverine people of Nigeria's Niger Delta whose identity is rooted in the Izon language, fishing and water-based livelihoods, kinship networks, and cultural traditions shaped by the delta environment. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Izon is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Central-Western Ijaw

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Ijaw
Primary Language(s): Izon (ijc)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,815,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013713
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Pray for the Central-Western Ijaw 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Izon
Language Family: Ijoid

100%
%
Izon Speakers

Media Resources in Izon:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Izon:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2009 Bible Society of Nigeria✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Izon bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Central-Western Ijaw 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 Central-Western Ijaw:
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 Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that those who have not yet received new life will be made alive together with Christ, saved by grace and raised up with Him to newness of life.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Izon Across Countries (ROP3 - 101946) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Central-Western IjawPG013713Central-Western IjawNigeria2,815,000Engaged yet UnreachedIzonProtestantism

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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