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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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The Gaanda of Nigeria

The Gaanda of Nigeria, numbering approximately 97,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Chadic-speaking people of Nigeria's upper Gongola River valley, comprising four subgroups (Ga'anda proper, Gabun, Boga, and Dingai) and known for a multi-stage Hleeta body-scarification tradition marking a woman's advancing eligibility for marriage. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Ga'anda is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Ga'anda (gqa)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 97,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013786
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Pray for the Gaanda 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

83%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ga'anda
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Ga’anda Speakers

Media Resources in Ga'anda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ga'anda:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ga'anda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gaanda 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 Gaanda:
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 Gaanda of Nigeria

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
readLuke 12:7

Pray that those who don't yet know how to trust in Jesus will not be consumed by worry and anxiety, but will trust in the Father's care and provision for their daily needs and for their eternal salvation

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!"
readMark 7:9

Pray that as men, women, boys, and girls place their faith in Christ, they will let go of any traditions that do not honor Him.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Ga'anda Across Countries (ROP3 - 103099) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
GaandaPG013786GaandaNigeria97,000Engaged yet UnreachedGa'andaEthnoreligion

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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