The Jula of Mali

The Jula of Mali, numbering approximately 125,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a Mande ethnic group indigenous to several West African countries They are an Indigenous people, with Jula as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malinke-Jula people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Jula.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Malinke-Jula
Primary Language(s): Jula (dyu)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 125,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013551
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Pray for the Jula of Mali

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Jula
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Jula Speakers

Media Resources in Jula:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Jula:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1996 Bible Society of Burkina Faso
2013 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.

2 entries

Or check out the Jula bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Jula:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Jula of Mali

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
readColossians 4:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, as they bring needs before the Lord.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Jula Across Countries (ROP3 - 104323) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
JulaJulaUnited States5,700Engaged yet UnreachedJulaSunni Islam
JulaJulaMali125,000Unengaged and UnreachedJulaFolk Islam
JulaJulaGhana35,000Engaged yet UnreachedJulaFolk Islam
Kong JulaKong JulaCote d’Ivoire3,265,000Engaged yet UnreachedJulaFolk Islam
JulaJulaBurkina Faso2,730,000Unengaged and UnreachedJulaFolk 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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