Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG013244

The Soninke of The Gambia

The Soninke of The Gambia, numbering about 204,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African Mnade-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea.

They are an indigenous people in the Soninke people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam, and they primarily speak Soninke.

Pray for the SoninkePrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Soninke people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Soninke

Fast facts

Country
Gambia
Population
204,000
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Soninke
Primary language
Soninke (snk)
Primary religion
Folk Islam
Strategic Progress Index ?
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Western Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Soninke are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Soninke

  • 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

Primary religion

Folk Islam · Islam

99% adherents

Primary language

Soninke · Mande family

100% speak Soninke

Gospel resources in Soninke

  • Bible available
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Soninke

  1. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
  2. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  3. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  4. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.

Download a prayer guide

Soninke in other countries

The same people is also reported in 6 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
SoninkeMali2,290,000Engaged yet Unreached
SoninkeSenegal634,000Engaged yet Unreached
SoninkeCote d’Ivoire240,000Engaged yet Unreached
SoninkeMauritania151,000Engaged yet Unreached
SoninkeGuinea-Bissau11,500Engaged yet Unreached
SoninkeUnited States5,200Engaged yet Unreached

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.