Who the Hausa are
The Hausa are one of Africa's largest peoples, centred in northern Nigeria and southern Niger, and their language is a trade language spoken by tens of millions more across West Africa. Hausa identity and Islam have been closely bound together for centuries.
Nigeria has one of the largest churches in the world, and the full Bible has existed in Hausa for generations — yet Hausa Muslim believers remain few. Hausa converts can face rejection and violence, and in parts of the north the line between Christian and Muslim communities is marked by years of conflict.
Signs of hope
The full Hausa Bible, Hausa-language media, and millions of Nigerian believers who already speak the language.
The honest difficulty
Faith and ethnic identity are tightly bound, converts face serious pressure, and conflict has deepened mistrust between communities.
What "Unreached" means
There is no indigenous community of believers large enough to reach the rest of the group without outside help — commonly measured as under 2% evangelical.
This describes access to the Gospel, not the worth of a people or the sincerity of anyone's faith.
How to pray for the Hausa
Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for Hausa Muslims to encounter Jesus through the Hausa Scriptures.
- Ask God to heal the wounds between Christian and Muslim communities in northern Nigeria.
- Pray for protection for Hausa believers and their families.
- Pray for Nigerian churches to love and reach their Hausa neighbours.
Where the Hausa live
Each nation profile carries church size, unreached peoples, what is going well, what is hard, and four prayer points.
Questions people ask about the Hausa
Who are the Hausa people?
The Hausa (also called Hausawa) are a people group of roughly 50 million, living mainly in Nigeria. They speak Hausa and are predominantly Islam (Sunni). One of the largest peoples in Africa, living beside one of the largest churches on earth — and still overwhelmingly Muslim. Population figures for people groups vary considerably by source and by how a group is defined.
Are the Hausa an unreached people group?
The Hausa are classified as unreached. There is no indigenous community of believers large enough to reach the rest of the group without outside help — commonly measured as under 2% evangelical. Scripture status: Full Bible in Hausa.
How can I pray for the Hausa?
Pray for Hausa Muslims to encounter Jesus through the Hausa Scriptures. Ask God to heal the wounds between Christian and Muslim communities in northern Nigeria. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.