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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yoruba of Nigeria

The Yoruba of Nigeria, numbering approximately 48,890,000 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: 48,890,000
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
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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.

Pray Now!
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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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Yoruba:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 Bible Society of Nigeria✓
2012 Bible Society of Nigeria✓
Yoruba Contemporary Bible✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yoruba bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ...that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
readColossians 4:3-4

Ask God to open doors for believers to share the gospel and help them communicate it clearly so that more people will understand the mystery of Christ and turn to follow Him.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YorubaPG014193YorubaNigeria48,890,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaPG013390YorubaGhana531,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaPG012364YorubaBenin265,000Engaged yet UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaPG047644YorubaUnited States152,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaPG013151YorubaCote d’Ivoire150,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaPG014462YorubaTogo144,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaPG013173YorubaEquatorial Guinea130,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaPG013615YorubaNiger90,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaPG012463YorubaBurkina Faso85,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaPG050477YorubaCanada10,500No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaPG014300YorubaSierra Leone7,400No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism

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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