Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Jola of Mauritania

The Jola of Mauritania, numbering approximately 5,400 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnic group indigenous to the Lower Casamance region of Senegal and neighboring parts of the Gambia. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Jola-Fonyi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mauritania
People Cluster: Atlantic-Jola
Primary Language(s): Jola-Fonyi (dyo)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 5,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013584
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Jola of Mauritania

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

73%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Jola-Fonyi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Jola-Fonyi Speakers

Media Resources in Jola-Fonyi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Jola-Fonyi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2011 Bible Society in the Gambia✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Jola-Fonyi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Jola:
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

Pray specifically for the Jola of Mauritania

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Jola-Fonyi Across Countries (ROP3 - 102625) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
Jola-FognyPG042490Jola-FognyFrance100Unengaged and UnreachedJola-FonyiSunni Islam
JolaPG013584JolaMauritania5,400Unengaged and UnreachedJola-FonyiFolk Islam
JolaPG014234JolaSenegal390,000Engaged yet UnreachedJola-FonyiFolk Islam
Jola-FonyiPG042193Jola-FonyiGambia149,000Engaged yet UnreachedJola-FonyiFolk Islam
JolaPG042198JolaGuinea-Bissau11,000Engaged yet UnreachedJola-FonyiEthnoreligion

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