The Soninke of Gambia

The Soninke of Gambia, numbering approximately 204,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African Mnade-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Soninke is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Soninke
Primary Language(s): Soninke (snk)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 204,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013244
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Soninke of Gambia

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Soninke
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Soninke Speakers

Media Resources in Soninke:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Soninke:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Soninke bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Soninke 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 Soninke:
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 Soninke of Gambia

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Soninke Across Countries (ROP3 - 109413) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
SoninkeSoninkeCote d’Ivoire241,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkeSoninkeGambia204,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeGuinea-Bissau11,500Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeMali2,295,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkeSoninkeMauritania151,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeSenegal635,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeUnited States5,200Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni 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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