The Northern Bobo of Burkina Faso

The Northern Bobo of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 656,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mande ethnolinguistic community of northern Bobo-speaking areas of Burkina Faso and Mali, who speak the Konabéré language and belong to the broader Bobo (Bobo Madare) cultural tradition. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Northern Bobo Madaré is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bobo, Black

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Northern Bobo Madaré (bbo)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 656,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012378
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Northern Bobo of Burkina Faso

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

48%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Bobo Madaré
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Konabéré Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Bobo Madaré:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Northern Bobo Madaré:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Alliance Biblique au Mali, 2017✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Northern Bobo Madaré bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northern Bobo 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 Northern Bobo:
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 Northern Bobo of Burkina Faso

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Bobo Northern, (Konabere) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101509) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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