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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mandinka of Gambia

The Mandinka of Gambia, numbering approximately 1,180,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia, eastern Guinea, Senegal, and Ghana. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Mandinka is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Mandinka (mnk)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 1,180,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013237
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Pray for the Mandinka of Gambia

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

98%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mandinka
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Mandinka Speakers

Media Resources in Mandinka:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mandinka:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2013 Bible Society in the Gambia✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mandinka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mandinka 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 Mandinka:
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 Mandinka of Gambia

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Mandinka Across Countries (ROP3 - 106233) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MandinkaPG013237MandinkaGambia1,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaPG014249MandinkaSenegal1,170,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaPG013466MandinkaGuinea-Bissau263,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaPG013356MandinkaGhana177,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaPG012339MandinkaBenin14,500Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaPG047648MandinkaUnited States2,800Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaSunni Islam
MandinkaPG042485MandinkaFrance100Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaSunni 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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