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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Songhai of Mali

The Songhai of Mali, numbering approximately 1,380,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnolinguistic group linked to te Songhai Empire that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Koyraboro Senni Songhai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Koyraboro Senni Songhai (ses)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,380,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013568
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Pray for the Songhai of Mali

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Koyraboro Senni Songhai
Language Family: Songhay

100%
%
Songhay, Koyraboro Senni Speakers

Media Resources in Koyraboro Senni Songhai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Koyraboro Senni Songhai:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Velberter Mission & Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Koyraboro Senni Songhai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Songhai 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 Songhai:
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 Songhai of Mali

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
readJohn 3:19

Pray that God will have mercy on those who love the darkness they are walking in and turn from their sin to faith in Christ.

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
readPsalm 66:5

Pray that many here will come and see what the Creator God has done on their behalf.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Songhai, Koyraboro Senni Across Countries (ROP3 - 109404) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
SonghaiPG012351SonghaiBenin11,000Unengaged and UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiFolk Islam
SonghaiPG013377SonghaiGhana35,500Unengaged and UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiSunni Islam
SonghaiPG013568SonghaiMali1,380,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiSunni Islam
SonghaiPG013609SonghaiNiger1,470,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiEthnoreligion

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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