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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yerwa Kanuri of Nigeria

The Yerwa Kanuri of Nigeria, numbering approximately 8,760,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kanuri ethnic group indigenous to the Borno and Yobe states of northeastern Nigeria. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Central Kanuri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Kanuri-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Central Kanuri (knc)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 8,760,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014188
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Pray for the Yerwa Kanuri 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kanuri
Language Family: Saharan

100%
%
Kanuri, Yerwa Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kanuri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kanuri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Bible Society of Nigeria✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kanuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yerwa Kanuri 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 Yerwa Kanuri:
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 Yerwa Kanuri of Nigeria

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
readIsaiah 52:7

Pray that those who don't know the good news of peace and salvation through Jesus Christ will have an opportunity to receive it. Pray that it will bring hope and healing to their souls.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Kanuri, Yerwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104605) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KanuriPG012059KanuriSudan498,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriSunni Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG011469Yerwa KanuriChad292,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG012815Yerwa KanuriCameroon192,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG013614Yerwa KanuriNiger238,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam
Yerwa KanuriPG014188Yerwa KanuriNigeria8,760,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KanuriFolk Islam

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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