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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Igbo of Nigeria

The Igbo of Nigeria, numbering approximately 35,240,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are 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 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: 35,240,000
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
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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!
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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

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IgboPG012623IgboCameroon124,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG013167IgboEquatorial Guinea65,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG013338IgboGhana74,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG013844IgboNigeria35,240,000No Longer UnreachedIgboProtestantism
IgboPG047202IgboUnited States234,000No 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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