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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Zari of Nigeria

The Zari of Nigeria, numbering approximately 40,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria and can also be known as Boto, Zakshi. They are an Indigenous people, in the Chadic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Folk. They primarily speak Hausa.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Arvid Cowell

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Hausa (hau)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Folk
Population: 40,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014203

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Pray for the Zari of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Folk Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hausa
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Hausa Speakers

Media Resources in Hausa:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Hausa:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Zari

The Zari are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Zari

The Zari 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.

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

Next steps for the Zari

The Zari 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Zari of Nigeria

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
readPsalm 62:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of Jesus, remembering that He is their rock, their fortress, and their salvation.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

Zari reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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