The Kalabari of Nigeria

The Kalabari of Nigeria, numbering approximately 586,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnic subgroup of the Ijaw people indigenous to he Niger Delta in Nigeria. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kalabari is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Ijaw
Primary Language(s): Kalabari (ijn)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 586,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013754
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Pray for the Kalabari 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

96%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalabari
Language Family: Ijoid

100%
%
Kalabari Speakers

Media Resources in Kalabari:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kalabari:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Bible Society of Nigeria✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kalabari bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kalabari 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 Kalabari:
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 Kalabari of Nigeria

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
readPsalm 42:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will thirst for God and be satisfied when they abide in Him.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Kalabari Across Countries (ROP3 - 104448) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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