The Nalu of Guinea

The Nalu of Guinea, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a coastal West African people who settled Guinea and Guinea-Bissau before the Mandinka arrived in the 14th or 15th centuries, whose war canoes killed Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristao in a fierce 1446 skirmish, converting to Islam only in the early 1900s. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Nalu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Guinea
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Nalu (naj)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013428
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Nalu of Guinea

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

95%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nalu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nalu Speakers

Media Resources in Nalu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Nalu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Nalu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nalu 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 Nalu:
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 Nalu of Guinea

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Nalu Across Countries (ROP3 - 107049) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 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.

Scroll to Top