The Kuranko of Sierra Leone

The Kuranko of Sierra Leone, numbering approximately 503,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mande people of northeastern Sierra Leone and neighboring Guinea whose oral traditions trace successive migrations from the Mande heartland into the Sierra Leone highlands. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Kuranko is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sierra Leone
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Kuranko (knk)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 503,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014286
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kuranko 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

66%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kuranko
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Kuranko Speakers

Media Resources in Kuranko:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kuranko:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2005 Bible Society in Sierra Leone ✓ ✓ ✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kuranko bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kuranko 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 Kuranko:
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 Kuranko of Sierra Leone

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:46-47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to fellowship with one another, and to prayer.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

Pray that God will raise up believers who can share the gospel with people who don't know the good news of Jesus, that God is light and in him, there is no darkness at all.

Kuranko Across Countries (ROP3 - 105445) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

2 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Kuranko Kuranko Sierra Leone 503,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kuranko Ethnoreligion
Kuranko Kuranko Guinea 144,000 Unengaged and Unreached Kuranko Animism

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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