The Mandinka of Ghana

The Mandinka of Ghana, numbering approximately 177,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia, eastern Guinea, Senegal, and Ghana They are an Diaspora people, with Mandinka as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malinke people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Mandinka.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Ghana
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Mandinka (mnk)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 177,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013356
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mandinka of Ghana

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

85%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mandinka
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Mandinka Speakers

Media Resources in Mandinka:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mandinka:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2013 Bible Society in the Gambia✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Mandinka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mandinka 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 Mandinka:
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 Mandinka of Ghana

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will lead those who might hesitate in getting baptized to trust Him as they obey His command, even when obedience is hard.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Mandinka Across Countries (ROP3 - 106233) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MandinkaMandinkaGambia1,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaSenegal1,165,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaGuinea-Bissau263,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaGhana177,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaBenin14,500Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaUnited States2,800Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaSunni Islam
MandinkaMandinkaFrance100Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaSunni 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.

Scroll to Top