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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mende of Sierra Leone

The Mende of Sierra Leone, numbering approximately 2,895,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Mande ethnolinguistic group indigenous to eastern Sierra Leone and limited border areas of Liberia They are an Indigenous people, with Mende as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mande people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Mende (Sierra Leone).

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sierra Leone
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Mende (Sierra Leone) (men)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,895,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014291
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Pray for the Mende 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

50%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mende (Sierra Leone)
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Mende (Sierra Leone) Speakers

Media Resources in Mende (Sierra Leone):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mende (Sierra Leone):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2002 Bible Society in Sierra Leone✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mende (Sierra Leone) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Mende are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Mende:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Mende of Sierra Leone

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.
readPsalm 105:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember His wonders, miracles, and perfect judgements.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Mende Across Countries (ROP3 - 111215) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MandePG047283MandeUnited States32,500Unengaged and UnreachedMende (Sierra Leone)Ethnoreligion
MendePG013519MendeLiberia48,000Engaged yet UnreachedMende (Sierra Leone)Folk Islam
MendePG014291MendeSierra Leone2,895,000No Longer UnreachedMende (Sierra Leone)Sunni 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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