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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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The Dirim of Nigeria

The Dirim of Nigeria, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Chamba people speaking a Daka dialect alongside the related Mapeo, Lamja, and Jaram, settled across Adamawa State's Fufore, Ganye, and Mayo-Belwa areas after historical migrations driven by famine, conflict, and the search for hunting grounds. They mostly adhere to Animism and Dirim is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Dirim (dir)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013740
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Pray for the Dirim 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

79%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dirim
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Dirim Speakers

Media Resources in Dirim:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dirim:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dirim bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dirim 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 Dirim:
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 Dirim of Nigeria

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Dirim Across Countries (ROP3 - 102629) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
DirimPG013740DirimNigeria21,500Engaged yet UnreachedDirimAnimism

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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