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People group profile · PG013722

The Chawai of Nigeria

The Chawai of Nigeria, numbering about 50,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria.

They are an indigenous people in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Atsam.

Pray for the ChawaiPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Nigeria
Population
50,500
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Benue
Primary language
Atsam (cch)
Primary religion
Protestantism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
10% or Greater but Less than 15%
GSEC ?
10% or Greater Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Moderately Reached People Group
Region
Western Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Chawai are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.

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

Next steps for the Chawai

  • 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

Protestantism · Christianity

Primary language

Atsam · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Atsam

Gospel resources in Atsam

  • Bible available, published 1932
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings 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 Chawai

  1. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  2. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
  3. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  4. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.

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