The Mandinka of Senegal

The Mandinka of Senegal, numbering approximately 1,170,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia, eastern Guinea, Senegal, and Ghana. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Mandinka is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Senegal
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Mandinka (mnk)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 1,170,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014249
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mandinka of Senegal

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

98%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mandinka
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Mandinka Speakers

Media Resources in Mandinka:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mandinka:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2013 Bible Society in the Gambia✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Mandinka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mandinka 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 Mandinka:
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 Mandinka of Senegal

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
readMark 5:20

Pray that God will bring people who appear beyond hope to faith in Jesus and that they will then go and tell others of the marvelous things He has done.

Mandinka Across Countries (ROP3 - 106233) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MandinkaMandinkaGambia1,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaSenegal1,170,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaGuinea-Bissau263,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaGhana177,000Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaBenin14,500Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaFolk Islam
MandinkaMandinkaUnited States2,800Engaged yet UnreachedMandinkaSunni Islam
MandinkaMandinkaFrance100Unengaged and UnreachedMandinkaSunni 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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