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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.

Pray Now!
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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

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SonghaiPG013609SonghaiNiger1,470,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiEthnoreligion
SonghaiPG013568SonghaiMali1,380,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiSunni Islam
SonghaiPG013377SonghaiGhana35,500Unengaged and UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiSunni Islam
SonghaiPG012351SonghaiBenin11,000Unengaged and UnreachedKoyraboro Senni SonghaiFolk 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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