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The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria

The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria, numbering approximately 2,820,000 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: 2,820,000
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

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

"...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.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Central-Western IjawPG013713Central-Western IjawNigeria2,820,000Engaged 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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