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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Timbuktu Tamasheq of Mali

The Timbuktu Tamasheq of Mali, numbering approximately 639,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Tuareg Berber, indigenous to the Kidal Region of northeastern Mali. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Tamasheq is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Timbuktu Tuareg

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Tuareg
Primary Language(s): Tamasheq (taq)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 639,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013572
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Pray for the Timbuktu Tamasheq 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tamasheq
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Tamasheq Speakers

Media Resources in Tamasheq:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tamasheq:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2003 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tamasheq bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Timbuktu Tamasheq 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 Timbuktu Tamasheq:
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 Timbuktu Tamasheq of Mali

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Tuareg, Kidal Across Countries (ROP3 - 110232) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Timbuktu TamasheqPG013572Timbuktu TamasheqMali639,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamasheqFolk Islam
TuaregPG012454TuaregBurkina Faso202,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamasheqFolk Islam
TamasheqPG013590TamasheqMauritania152,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamasheqFolk Islam
Timbuktu Malian TamasheqPG047044Timbuktu Malian TamasheqNiger16,000Unengaged and UnreachedTawallammat TamajaqFolk 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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