The Limba of Sierra Leone

The Limba of Sierra Leone, numbering approximately 530,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as one of the major ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The Limba are considered by many to be the earliest indigenous inhabitants of the region They are an Indigenous people, with Yimba, Limba as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Atlantic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Limba, West-Central.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sierra Leone
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Limba, West-Central (lia)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 530,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014287
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Limba of Sierra Leone

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

62%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Limba, West-Central
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Limba, West-Central Speakers

Media Resources in Limba, West-Central:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Limba, West-Central:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2009 Bible Society in Sierra Leone

1 entry

Or check out the Limba, West-Central bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Limba 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 Limba:
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 Limba of Sierra Leone

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Yimba, Limba Across Countries (ROP3 - 111065) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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.

Scroll to Top