The Ngwoi of Nigeria

The Ngwoi of Nigeria, numbering approximately 39,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria They are an Indigenous people, with Ngwoi / Ungwai as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Ca_hungwa_rya_ is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Ca_hungwa_rya_ (nat)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 39,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014023
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ngwoi 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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

60%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ca_hungwa_rya_
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Cahungwarya Speakers

Media Resources in Ca_hungwa_rya_:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Ca_hungwa_rya_:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Ca_hungwa_rya_ bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Ngwoi 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 Ngwoi:
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 Ngwoi of Nigeria

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
readMark 5:20

Pray that God will bring people who appear beyond hope to faith in Jesus and that they will then go and tell others of the marvelous things He has done.

Ngwoi Across Countries (ROP3 - 107303) 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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