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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Zenaga of Mauritania

The Zenaga of Mauritania, numbering approximately 61,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Mauritania, south, Mederdra to Atlantic coast. They are an Indigenous people, in the Amazigh-Saharan people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Hassaniyya.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Mauritania
People Cluster: Amazigh-Saharan
Primary Language(s): Hassaniyya (mey)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 61,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013581
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Zenaga of Mauritania

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hassaniyya
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Hassaniyya:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Hassaniyya:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hassaniyya bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Zenaga

The Zenaga are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Zenaga

The Zenaga 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.

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

Next steps for the Zenaga

The Zenaga are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Zenaga of Mauritania

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal 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.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Zenaga (ROP3 - 102734) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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