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People group profile · PG012433

The Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso

The Northern Nuna of Burkina Faso, numbering about 117,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Gurunsi people of southern Burkina Faso who migrated north from Ghana with the Winiama at the end of the 1400s ahead of Mossi cavalry, whose advance was blocked by tsetse-infested bush that killed the horses, known for vividly colored ceremonial masks.

They are an indigenous people in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism, and they primarily speak Northern Nuni.

Pray for the Northern NunaPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Northern Nuna people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nuna, Northern

Fast facts

Country
Burkina Faso
Population
117,000
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Gur
Primary language
Northern Nuni (nuv)
Primary religion
Animism
Strategic Progress Index
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
5% or Greater but Less than 10%
GSEC
5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
Lostness priority
Moderately Reached People Group
Region
Western Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Northern Nuna are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Northern Nuna

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Animism · Ethnoreligion

62% adherents

Primary language

Northern Nuni · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Northern Nuni

Gospel resources in Northern Nuni

  • Bible available, published 2022
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings not available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Northern Nuna

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

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