The Soninke of Guinea-Bissau

The Soninke of Guinea-Bissau, numbering approximately 11,500 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: Guinea-Bissau
People Cluster: Soninke
Primary Language(s): Soninke (snk)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 11,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013474
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Soninke of Guinea-Bissau

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 Guinea-Bissau

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SoninkeSoninkeUnited States5,200Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkeSoninkeSenegal635,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeMauritania151,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeMali2,295,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkeSoninkeGuinea-Bissau11,500Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeGambia204,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkeSoninkeCote d’Ivoire241,000Engaged 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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