The Wolof of Senegal

The Wolof of Senegal, numbering approximately 7,050,000 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: 7,050,000
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
View on Joshua Project

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.

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

Bible Resources in Wolof:

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

1 entry

Or check out the Wolof bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
readJohn 14:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere in hope, remembering that Jesus went to prepare a place for them to be with Him for eternity!

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WolofWolofSenegal7,050,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofWolofGambia398,000Engaged yet UnreachedGambian WolofFolk Islam
WolofWolofMauritania212,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSufi Islam
WolofWolofItaly81,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofWolofUnited States27,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofWolofGabon25,000Engaged yet UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofWolofCote d’Ivoire21,000Unengaged and UnreachedWolofFolk Islam
WolofWolofGuinea-Bissau11,500Unengaged and UnreachedWolofSunni Islam
WolofWolofCanada1,300Engaged 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.

Scroll to Top