The Yoruba of Nigeria

The Yoruba of Nigeria, numbering approximately 48,900,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to Yorubaland, an are that spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Yoruba is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Yoruba (yor)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 48,900,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014193
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yoruba 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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yoruba
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Yoruba Speakers

Media Resources in Yoruba:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Yoruba:

3 entries

Or check out the Yoruba bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Yoruba 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 Yoruba:
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 Yoruba of Nigeria

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

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 I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Yoruba Across Countries (ROP3 - 111095) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
YorubaYorubaCanada10,500No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaUnited States152,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaYorubaTogo144,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaSierra Leone7,400No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaYorubaNigeria48,900,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaNiger90,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaGhana532,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaEquatorial Guinea130,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaYorubaCote d’Ivoire150,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaBurkina Faso85,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaBenin265,000Engaged yet UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion

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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