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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Igbo of Nigeria

The Igbo of Nigeria, numbering approximately 35,200,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an autonomous village-federation people of southeastern Nigeria whose Nri Kingdom, a priestly rather than military polity tracing to the founder-hero Eri, shaped Igbo identity before their 1967 secession as Biafra triggered Nigeria's civil war They are an Indigenous people, with Igbo as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Igbo people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Igbo is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Igbo
Primary Language(s): Igbo (ibo)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 35,200,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013844
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Igbo 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

99%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Igbo
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Igbo Speakers

Media Resources in Igbo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Igbo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Baịbụlụ Nsọ (BN)✓
Union Version✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Igbo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Igbo 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 Igbo:
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 Igbo of Nigeria

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Igbo Across Countries (ROP3 - 103963) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IgboPG013844IgboNigeria35,200,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG047202IgboUnited States234,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG012623IgboCameroon124,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG013338IgboGhana74,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG013167IgboEquatorial Guinea65,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG047450IgboCanada5,700No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism

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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