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The Jola-Fonyi of Gambia

The Jola-Fonyi of Gambia, numbering approximately 149,000 people, are Engaged yet 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 3.1 Flash-Lite: Jola

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Atlantic-Jola
Primary Language(s): Jola-Fonyi (dyo)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 149,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042193
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Pray for the Jola-Fonyi of Gambia

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: 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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Jola-Fonyi 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 Jola-Fonyi:
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 Jola-Fonyi of Gambia

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

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