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The Somalis of Somalia

The Somalis of Somalia, numbering approximately 13,760,000 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: 13,760,000
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!
Download Prayer Guide

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:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Somali:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
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

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
readDeuteronomy 6:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hide God's Word in their hearts, let it shape their conversations and daily lives, and pass on their faith to the next generation.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

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

Strategic Progress Index

All

16 people groups

Photo People Group ID ▲ Name Country Population Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Somalis PG000357 Somalis Italy 13,500 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG000434 Somalis Netherlands 41,000 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG000683 Somalis United Kingdom 143,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG011486 Somalis Djibouti 627,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG011644 Somalis Ethiopia 8,325,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG011790 Somalis Kenya 3,345,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG011935 Somalis Saudi Arabia 77,500 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG011954 Somalis Somalia 13,760,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG012141 Somalis Sudan 2,500 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG012254 Somalis United Arab Emirates 111,000 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG012292 Somalis Yemen 1,245,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG015040 Somalis Tanzania 71,000 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG042708 Somalis Eritrea 53,500 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG043631 Somalis United States 164,000 Engaged yet Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG047404 Somalis Canada 67,000 Unengaged and Unreached Somali Sunni Islam
Somalis PG050208 Somalis Sweden 81,500 Unengaged and Unreached Somali 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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