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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nankana of Burkina Faso

The Nankana of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 65,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous community of Burkina Faso They are an Indigenous people, with Gur / Gurenne as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Farefare.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Farefare (gur)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 65,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012401
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Pray for the Nankana 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

71%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Farefare
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%

Media Resources in Farefare:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Farefare:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Farefare bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Nankana:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nankana 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 Nankana:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nankana are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Nankana:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Nankana of Burkina Faso

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Gur (Farefare) Across Countries (ROP3 - 111200) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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