The Bekworra of Nigeria

The Bekworra of Nigeria, numbering approximately 219,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Indigenous ethnic group of southeastern Nigeria, located primarily in Cross River State, where they form both an ethnic community and the basis of Bekwarra Local Government Area Bekwarra, Bekwara They are an Indigenous people, with Bekworra (Yakoro) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Bekwarra.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Bekwarra (bkv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 219,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013681
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bekworra 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bekwarra
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bekwarra Speakers

Media Resources in Bekwarra:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bekwarra:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1983 Nigeria Bible Translation Trust

1 entry

Or check out the Bekwarra bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bekworra 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 Bekworra:
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 Bekworra of Nigeria

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Bekworra Across Countries (ROP3 - 101216) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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