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The Dera of Nigeria

The Dera of Nigeria, numbering approximately 73,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West Chadic people, also known as Kanakuru, whose homeland centers on Shelleng in Adamawa State, with communities extending into neighboring Borno State. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Dera (Nigeria) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Dera (Nigeria) (kna)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 73,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013736
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Pray for the Dera 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

71%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dera (Nigeria)
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Dera Speakers

Media Resources in Dera (Nigeria):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Dera (Nigeria):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dera (Nigeria) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: No longer Unreached

The Dera 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 Dera:
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 Dera of Nigeria

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
readPsalm 65:9

Give thanks for God's provision in nature, and pray that those who don't know Him will recognize His hand, desire to know their Creator, and hear the truth that Jesus is the solution to the world's greatest need.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Dera, Kanakuru Across Countries (ROP3 - 102526) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
DeraPG013736DeraNigeria73,500No Longer UnreachedDera (Nigeria)Ethnoreligion

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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