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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kono of Sierra Leone

The Kono of Sierra Leone, numbering approximately 334,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Mande ethnolinguistic group indigenous to Sierra Leone's Kono district They are an Indigenous people, with Kono (Sierra Leone) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mande people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Kono (Sierra Leone).

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kono

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sierra Leone
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Kono (Sierra Leone) (kno)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 334,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014281
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Pray for the Kono of Sierra Leone

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

78%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kono (Sierra Leone)
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Kono (Sierra Leone) Speakers

Media Resources in Kono (Sierra Leone):

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kono (Sierra Leone):

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kono (Sierra Leone) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Kono:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kono 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 Kono:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kono 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.

Next steps for the Kono:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kono of Sierra Leone

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Kono, Konnoh Across Countries (ROP3 - 114893) 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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