Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Somalis of United States

The Somalis of United States, numbering approximately 163,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a culturally rich and historically significant Cushitic ethnic group, known for their nomadic traditions, Sunni Muslim faith, and influential role in the Horn of Africa's socio-political landscape They are an Diaspora people, with Somali as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Somali people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Somali.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Somali

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Somali
Primary Language(s): Somali (som)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 163,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043631
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Pray for the Somalis of United States

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

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Somali
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Somali Speakers

Media Resources in Somali:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Somali:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
SIM Version✓✓
Society for International Ministries, 2008✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Somali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Somalis 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 Somalis:
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 Somalis of United States

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
readNumbers 6:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that He has given them His favor and His presence.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Somali Across Countries (ROP3 - 109392) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SomalisPG011954SomalisSomalia13,710,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011644SomalisEthiopia8,250,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011790SomalisKenya3,320,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG012292SomalisYemen1,235,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011486SomalisDjibouti622,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG043631SomalisUnited States163,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG000683SomalisUnited Kingdom142,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG012254SomalisUnited Arab Emirates110,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG050208SomalisSweden81,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011935SomalisSaudi Arabia77,500Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG015040SomalisTanzania70,500Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG047404SomalisCanada67,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG042708SomalisEritrea53,500Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG000434SomalisNetherlands41,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG000357SomalisItaly13,500Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG012141SomalisSudan2,500Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni 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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