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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 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

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 IjawNigeria2,820,000Engaged 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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