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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The Somalis of Somalia

The Somalis of Somalia, numbering approximately 13,750,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are 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 mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Somali is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Somalia
People Cluster: Somali
Primary Language(s): Somali (som)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 13,750,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011954
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Pray for the Somalis of Somalia

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

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Somali
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

85%
%
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 Somalia

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow strong in His power, putting on the full armor of God, which will enable them to stand against the devil’s lies.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SomalisPG011954SomalisSomalia13,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011644SomalisEthiopia8,320,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011790SomalisKenya3,340,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG012292SomalisYemen1,245,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011486SomalisDjibouti626,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG043631SomalisUnited States163,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG000683SomalisUnited Kingdom143,000Engaged yet UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG012254SomalisUnited Arab Emirates111,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG050208SomalisSweden81,000Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG011935SomalisSaudi Arabia77,500Unengaged and UnreachedSomaliSunni Islam
SomalisPG015040SomalisTanzania71,000Unengaged 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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