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The Wolof of Senegal

The Wolof of Senegal, numbering approximately 7,055,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to northwestern Senegal, the Gambia, and southwestern coastal Mauritania. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Wolof is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Senegal
People Cluster: Atlantic-Wolof
Primary Language(s): Wolof (wol)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 7,055,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014267
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Pray for the Wolof 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wolof
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Wolof Speakers

Media Resources in Wolof:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wolof:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 La Mission Baptiste du Sénégal✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wolof bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Wolof 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 Wolof:
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 Wolof of Senegal

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Wolof Across Countries (ROP3 - 110856) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WolofPG047451WolofCanada1,300Engaged yet UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofPG013147WolofCote d’Ivoire21,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofPG013222WolofGabon25,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofPG013247WolofGambia399,000Engaged yet UnreachedGambian WolofFolk Islam
WolofPG042188WolofGuinea-Bissau11,500Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofPG042327WolofItaly81,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofPG013591WolofMauritania212,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSufi Islam
WolofPG014267WolofSenegal7,055,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofPG047653WolofUnited States27,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofSunni 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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