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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Soninke of Mali

The Soninke of Mali, numbering approximately 2,295,000 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 Sunni 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: Mali
People Cluster: Soninke
Primary Language(s): Soninke (snk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,295,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013569
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Pray for the Soninke of Mali

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Soninke
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Soninke Speakers

Media Resources in Soninke:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Soninke:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Soninke bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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 Mali

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

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SoninkePG013569SoninkeMali2,295,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkePG014264SoninkeSenegal635,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkePG013128SoninkeCote d’Ivoire241,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeSunni Islam
SoninkePG013244SoninkeGambia204,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkePG013589SoninkeMauritania151,000Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkePG013474SoninkeGuinea-Bissau11,500Engaged yet UnreachedSoninkeFolk Islam
SoninkePG047663SoninkeUnited 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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