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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wala of Burkina Faso

The Wala of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 43,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Dagaaba people in Burkina Faso They are an Indigenous people, with Dagaaba (Dagaari) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Dagaari Dioula.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Dagaari Dioula (dgd)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 43,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012458
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Pray for the Wala of Burkina Faso

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dagaari Dioula
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

99%
%
Dagaari Dioula Speakers

Media Resources in Dagaari Dioula:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dagaari Dioula:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Association Nationale pour la Traduction de la Bible et Alphabestisation (ANTBA)✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dagaari Dioula bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Wala 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 Wala:
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 Wala of Burkina Faso

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
readPsalm 119:97

Pray that the lost will have access to God's Word in their language and treasure it deeply, meditating on God's promises and precepts.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Dagaari Dioula, Wala Across Countries (ROP3 - 102367) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WalaPG012458WalaBurkina Faso43,500Engaged yet UnreachedDagaari DioulaFolk Islam

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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