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The Nzema of Cote d’Ivoire

The Nzema of Cote d’Ivoire, numbering approximately 138,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Akan people whose language preserves an earlier form of Akan speech, spanning both southwestern Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast as one people, organized through matrilineal descent for inheritance and political succession. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Nzima is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nzema

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cote d’Ivoire
People Cluster: Guinean
Primary Language(s): Nzima (nzi)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 138,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013122
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Pray for the Nzema of Cote d’Ivoire

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nzima
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nzema Speakers

Media Resources in Nzima:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nzima:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1999 Bible Society of Ghana✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nzima bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nzema 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 Nzema:
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 Nzema of Cote d’Ivoire

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
readLuke 12:7

Pray that those who don't yet know how to trust in Jesus will not be consumed by worry and anxiety, but will trust in the Father's care and provision for their daily needs and for their eternal salvation

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Nzema Across Countries (ROP3 - 100420) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NzemaPG013265NzemaGhana573,000No Longer UnreachedNzimaEthnoreligion
NzemaPG013122NzemaCote d’Ivoire138,000Engaged yet UnreachedNzimaEthnoreligion

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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