The Maswanka of Gambia

The Maswanka of Gambia, numbering approximately 2,800 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to Guinea-Bissau. They are an Diaspora people, in the Malinke people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Mansoanka.

Maswanka in The Gambia photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Maswanka

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Mansoanka (msw)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013240
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Maswanka 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mansoanka
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

%
Mansoanka Speakers

Media Resources in Mansoanka:

Films:

Bible Resources in Mansoanka:

Or check out the Mansoanka bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Maswanka

The Maswanka are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Maswanka

The Maswanka 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.

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

Next steps for the Maswanka

The Maswanka are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Maswanka of Gambia

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Kunante (ROP3 - 105407) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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