The Gwandara of Nigeria

The Gwandara of Nigeria, numbering approximately 54,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are descendants of pre-Islamic Hausa who split from Kano-area society under the legendary founder Barbushe, dispersing into over a hundred villages across central Nigeria while keeping traditional religion instead of the Islam that later defined the Hausa. They mostly adhere to Animism and Gwandara is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Gwandara (gwn)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 54,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013823
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Gwandara 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

86%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gwandara
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Gwandara Speakers

Media Resources in Gwandara:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Gwandara:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Gwandara bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gwandara 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 Gwandara:
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 Gwandara 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

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Gwandara Across Countries (ROP3 - 103609) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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