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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Pongu of Nigeria

The Pongu of Nigeria, numbering approximately 55,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria and can also be known as Pangu, Tarya, Arringeu, Pongo. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Pangu.

Pongu in Nigeria photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 GoWestAfrica Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Pangu (png)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 55,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014084
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Pongu 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: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pangu
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Pangu Speakers

Media Resources in Pangu:

Films:

No entries found for: Pangu(png). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Pangu:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Pangu bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Pongu

The Pongu 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 Pongu

The Pongu 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 Pongu

The Pongu 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 Pongu of Nigeria

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
readPsalm 6:9

Pray that lost people will hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ, knowing that He hears their plea and accepts their prayer.

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 Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

Pongu (ROP3 - 108118) reported in the following countries:

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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