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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Maninka of United States

The Maninka of United States, numbering approximately 5,700 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mande diaspora people of West African Maninka origin, descended from communities linked to the historic Mali Empire who maintain ties to the broader Manding cultural and linguistic tradition. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Maninkakan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Maninka

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Western Maninkakan (mlq)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 5,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047665
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Pray for the Maninka of United States

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Maninkakan
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Maninkakan, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Western Maninkakan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Maninkakan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Maninkakan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Maninka 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 Maninka:
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 Maninka of United States

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
readGalatians 3:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be united in Christ across all differences of ethnicity, social status, and gender.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Maninka, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 106266) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ManinkaPG012420ManinkaBurkina Faso194,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanFolk Islam
ManinkaPG013557ManinkaMali776,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanSunni Islam
ManinkaPG014251ManinkaSenegal680,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanFolk Islam
ManinkaPG047665ManinkaUnited States5,700Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanSunni 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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