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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Igala of Nigeria

The Igala of Nigeria, numbering approximately 1,875,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic people of the Niger-Benue confluence in central Nigeria whose identity is rooted in the historic Igala Kingdom centered at Idah and longstanding cultural and political ties across the Middle Belt. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Igala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Igala (igl)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,875,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013842
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Pray for the Igala 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

78%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Igala
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Igala Speakers

Media Resources in Igala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Igala:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1970 Bible Society of Nigeria✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Igala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Igala 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 Igala:
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 Igala of Nigeria

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

"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.

Igala Across Countries (ROP3 - 103960) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IgalaPG013842IgalaNigeria1,875,000No Longer UnreachedIgalaProtestantism

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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