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People group profile · PG013424

The Maninka of Guinea

The Maninka of Guinea, numbering about 3,880,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Guinea.

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

Pray for the ManinkaPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Guinea
Population
3,880,000
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Malinke
Primary language
Eastern Maninkakan (emk)
Primary religion
Folk Islam
Strategic Progress Index
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
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 Maninka 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 Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

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

Primary religion

Folk Islam · Islam

98% adherents

Primary language

Eastern Maninkakan · Mande family

100% speak Eastern Maninkakan

Gospel resources in Eastern Maninkakan

  • Bible available, published 1993
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

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

Pray for the Maninka

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

Download a prayer guide

Maninka, Eastern in other countries

The same people (ROP3 106265) is reported in 3 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
Eastern ManinkaMali698,000Engaged yet Unreached
ManinkaSierra Leone190,000Engaged yet Unreached
ManinkaLiberia79,000Engaged yet Unreached

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