Burkina Faso

Country: Burkina Faso

Number of People Groups

People Groups Unreached

27 (33.8%)

Progress Level

The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an estimate of the progress of church planting among a people group, people cluster, country or language. The Progress Scale is derived from people group values for percent Evangelical and percent Christian Adherent.

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Total
Population

21,433,000

Population in Unreached

4,982,000 (23.2%)

Largest Religion

Islam (55.0%)

% Christian Adherent

21.17%

% Evangelical

10.58%

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

4.1%

(Global Rate = 2.6%)

Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼

Progress Scale: ●●●●●
☀
= Frontier peoples
People Group ▲	Population this Country	Global Population	Indigenous	Primary Language	Primary Religion	Progress Scale	% Christian Adherent	% Evangelical	Est. Workers Needed *
Algerian, Arabic-speaking	22,000	35,855,000		Arabic, Algerian Spoken	Islam	0 ☀	0.04 %	0.00 %	1
Bambara	6,900	6,574,000		Bamanankan	Islam	1 ●	4.00 %	1.80 %	1
Batonu, Baruba	28,000	1,381,000		Baatonum	Islam	4 ●	10.00 %	3.90 %	-1 -
Biali	3,500	174,000	●	Biali	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	8.00 %	4.70 %	-1 -
Birifor, Northern	236,000	236,000	●	Birifor, Malba	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	16.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Bissa	644,000	1,068,000	●	Bisa	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	25.00 %	11.00 %	-1 -
Ble, Jalkunan	1,900	1,900	●	Jalkunan	Islam	4 ●	10.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Bobo Fing	72,000	109,000	●	Konabere	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	27.00 %	12.50 %	-1 -
Bobo Madare	261,000	261,000	●	Bobo Madare, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.02 %	0.01 %	5
Bolon	34,000	46,000	●	Bolon	Islam	1 ●	3.00 %	1.45 %	1
Bozo, Tegue	3,400	299,000		Bozo, Tieyaxo	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Buamu	387,000	387,000	●	Buamu	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	33.00 %	14.00 %	-1 -
Bwamu, Laa Laa	124,000	124,000	●	Bwamu, Laa Laa	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	28.30 %	14.00 %	-1 -
Bwamu, Twi	44,000	44,000	●	Bwamu, Cwi	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	28.30 %	14.00 %	-1 -
Dagaari Dioula, Wala	39,000	39,000	●	Dagaari Dioula	Islam	1 ●	1.50 %	1.20 %	1
Dagara	357,000	357,000	●	Dagara, Northern	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	25.00 %	1.50 %	-1 -
Deaf	215,000	48,207,000	●	Language unknown	Islam	2 ●	20.69 %	-1	-1 -
Dogon, Jamsay	600	264,000		Dogon, Jamsay	Islam	2 ●	8.00 %	2.00 %	-1 -
Dogon, Tomo Kan	24,000	320,000	●	Dogon, Tomo Kan	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	21.00 %	6.50 %	-1 -
Dogose	46,000	46,000	●	Dogose	Islam	1 ●	5.00 %	1.00 %	1
Dogoso	16,000	16,000	●	Dogoso	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	0.17 %	0.17 %	1
Dyan	32,000	32,000	●	Dyan	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	10.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Dzuun, Samogo	26,000	26,000	●	Dzuungoo	Islam	1 ●	1.00 %	0.30 %	1
English-speaking, general	800	51,000		English	Christianity	5 ●	80.00 %	32.00 %	-1 -
Ewe	41,000	6,200,000		Ewe	Christianity	5 ●	80.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
French	16,000	50,807,000		French	Christianity	3 ●	72.00 %	0.70 %	-1 -
Fulani, Jelgooji	421,000	421,000	●	Fulfulde, Western Niger	Islam	1 ●	0.30 %	0.20 %	8
Fulani, Maasina	9,900	1,823,000		Fulfulde, Maasina	Islam	1 ●	0.20 %	0.15 %	1
Fulani, Western	1,268,000	2,515,000	●	Fulfulde, Western Niger	Islam	1 ●	0.70 %	0.23 %	25
Gouin	75,000	78,000	●	Cerma	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	7.50 %	-1 -
Gourma	1,115,000	1,602,000	●	Gourmanchema	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	19.00 %	8.01 %	-1 -
Gur, Ninkare	58,000	601,000	●	Farefare	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	6.00 %	2.50 %	-1 -
Hausa	3,100	51,852,000		Hausa	Islam	1 ●	0.10 %	0.10 %	1
Jotoni	1,600	21,000		Jowulu	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	3.00 %	1.60 %	1
Jula, Dyula	2,193,000	5,073,000	●	Jula	Islam	1 ●	0.80 %	0.00 %	44
Kaan, Gan	14,000	14,000	●	Kaansa	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	6.00 %	4.00 %	-1 -
Karaboro, Eastern	72,000	81,000	●	Karaboro, Eastern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	10.00 %	2.90 %	-1 -
Karaboro, Western	69,000	69,000	●	Karaboro, Western	Islam	1 ●	4.00 %	2.00 %	1
Kasem	121,000	306,000	●	Kasem	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	12.00 %	8.50 %	-1 -
Khe	3,600	3,600	●	Khe	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	8.20 %	7.00 %	-1 -
Khisa, Komono	6,900	17,000	●	Khisa	Islam	1 ●	5.00 %	0.49 %	1
Kolsi, Ko	37,000	37,000	●	Winye	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	8.00 %	4.50 %	-1 -
Kpeego	2,400	2,400	●	Kpeego	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	4.00 %	1.00 %	1
Kurumfe, Fulse	327,000	335,000	●	Koromfe	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	13.00 %	1.00 %	-1 -
Kusaal	18,000	680,000		Kusaal	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	10.00 %	2.90 %	-1 -
Lela	308,000	308,000	●	Lyele	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	4.80 %	-1 -
Lobi	318,000	674,000	●	Lobi	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	4.00 %	1.50 %	6
Maninka, Eastern	11,000	4,122,000		Maninkakan, Eastern	Islam	1 ●	1.50 %	1.20 %	1
Marka, Dafing	195,000	258,000	●	Marka	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	14.00 %	5.50 %	-1 -
Moba	4,100	472,000	●	Moba	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	7.00 %	2.70 %	-1 -
Mossi	10,264,000	12,799,000	●	Moore	Islam	5 ●	31.50 %	17.74 %	-1 -
Natioro	5,600	5,600	●	Natioro	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuna, Northern	113,000	113,000	●	Nuni, Northern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	16.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Nuna, Southern	212,000	212,000	●	Nuni, Southern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	25.00 %	8.00 %	-1 -
Paleni	300	300	●	Paleni	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	5.00 %	2.00 %	1
Pana, Sama	9,500	17,000	●	Pana	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	4.00 %	0.40 %	1
Pwo	26,000	26,000	●	Phuie	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	7.00 %	4.20 %	-1 -
Red Bobo, Bwa	130,000	436,000	●	Bomu	Ethnic Religions	5 ●	28.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Samo, Kalemse	26,000	29,000	●	Kalamse	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	10.00 %	1.40 %	-1 -
Samo, Maya	70,000	70,000	●	Samo, Maya	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	9.50 %	-1 -
Samo, Samo Matya	217,000	218,000	●	Samo, Matya	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	20.00 %	8.70 %	-1 -
Samo, Southern	161,000	161,000	●	Samo, Southern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	30.00 %	9.50 %	-1 -
Seemogo	23,000	29,000	●	Seeku	Islam	5 ●	15.00 %	12.00 %	-1 -
Senoufo, Central	64,000	69,000	●	Senoufo, Sicite	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	8.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Senoufo, Nanerige	138,000	138,000	●	Senoufo, Nanerige	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	10.00 %	2.80 %	-1 -
Senoufo, Niangolo	103,000	103,000	●	Senoufo, Senara	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	8.00 %	1.55 %	-1 -
Siamou, Seme	25,000	63,000	●	Siamou	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	6.00 %	1.00 %	-1 -
Sininkere, Silanke	11,000	11,000	●	Sininkere	Islam	2 ●	6.00 %	0.15 %	-1 -
Sissala	30,000	30,000	●	Sissala	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	16.00 %	10.00 %	-1 -
Songhai, Humburi	13,000	43,000	●	Songhay, Humburi Senni	Islam	1 ●	1.00 %	0.02 %	1
Tenbo, Loron	4,200	14,000	●	Teen	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	3.00 %	0.50 %	1
Tiefo	28,000	28,000	●	Tiefo	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	6.00 %	4.50 %	-1 -
Toussian, Northern	40,000	40,000	●	Toussian, Northern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	5.00 %	2.70 %	-1 -
Toussian, Southern	40,000	40,000	●	Toussian, Southern	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	8.00 %	3.80 %	-1 -
Tuareg, Tamasheq	176,000	775,000	●	Tamasheq	Islam	0 ☀	0.08 %	0.08 %	4
Turka, Tyurama	70,000	70,000	●	Turka	Ethnic Religions	4 ●	12.00 %	9.00 %	-1 -
Vige, Viemo	15,000	15,000	●	Viemo	Ethnic Religions	1 ●	5.00 %	1.40 %	1
Wara	9,800	9,800	●	Wara	Ethnic Religions	2 ●	7.00 %	0.60 %	-1 -
Yoruba	74,000	37,843,000		Yoruba	Islam	4 ●	45.00 %	7.50 %	-1 -
Zarma	1,600	4,742,000	●	Zarma	Islam	4 ●	10.00 %	3.00 %	-1 -
Totals: 80	21,433,000					27 ●	21.17 %	10.58 %	113
Unclassified / Other Individuals	64,000
UN Country Population (2021)	21,497,000

Other minor groups: 1

Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Some may not be viable and/or have incorrect Progress Scale values, population, language and religion information. The groups listed below are not included in overall Joshua Project people group counts. If you have information about these groups, please contact us.

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
People Group ▲	Progress Scale	Population	Primary Language	Primary Religion
British	4 ●	-1 Unknown	English	Christianity
Totals: 1

For more information see the Joshua Project Small Group Policy

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups by country. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker-unit (single person or married couple) per 50,000 living in an unreached people group by country, or for example one team of four worker-units per 200,000 people. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Province ▲	Estimated Population
Boucle du Mouhoun	2,033,000
Cascades	846,000
Centre	2,936,000
Centre-Est	1,654,000
Centre-Nord	1,737,000
Centre-Ouest	1,690,000
Centre-Sud	897,000
Est	1,829,000
Haut-Bassins	2,221,000
Nord	1,679,000
Plateau-Central	977,000
Sahel	1,435,000
Sud-Ouest	892,000
Provinces: 13	20,826,000
UN Country Population	21,497,000

Burkina Faso Prayer Cards
	Burkina Faso prayer cards. All Unreached

Burkina Faso Links
Operation World
World Factbook
God Reports (stories from the field)
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing
National Bible Society

Burkina Faso Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Ethnolinguistic Map (Univ of Texas)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Class ▲	Population	% Popl	% Hindu	% Muslim	% Christian	% Buddhist	% Sikh	% Other
Forward Caste (FC)	289,990,000	1,353.0 %	97.3 %	0.0 %	1.1 %	0.1 %	0.0 %	1.5 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	774,293,000	3,612.6 %	70.2 %	24.9 %	1.7 %	0.1 %	2.3 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	207,376,000	967.6 %	93.5 %	0.0 %	0.5 %	3.4 %	2.6 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	115,473,000	538.8 %	81.9 %	1.5 %	9.1 %	0.8 %	0.0 %	6.7 %
	21,433,000

Why Use Caste to Define Peoples?

South Asia Communities / Castes: An Overview

A History of South Asia People Group Lists

Why Include Religion When Defining South Asia Peoples?

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples w/ this Primary Language	# Unreached w/ this Primary Language	Scripture Status	NT Text Online	NT Audio Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Arabic, Algerian Spoken	arq	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Baatonum	bba	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Bamanankan	bam	1	1	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Biali	beh	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Birifor, Malba	bfo	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Bisa	bib	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Bobo Madare, Southern	bwq	1	1	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Bolon	bof	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Bomu	bmq	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Bozo, Tieyaxo	boz	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Buamu	box	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	-1	1	-1
Bwamu, Cwi	bwy	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Bwamu, Laa Laa	bwj	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Cerma	cme	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Dagaari Dioula	dgd	1	1	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Dagara, Northern	dgi	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Dogon, Jamsay	djm	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Dogon, Tomo Kan	dtm	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	1
Dogose	dos	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Dogoso	dgs	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Dyan	dya	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Dzuungoo	dnn	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
English	eng	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Ewe	ewe	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Farefare	gur	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
French	fra	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Fulfulde, Maasina	ffm	1	1	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Fulfulde, Western Niger	fuh	2	2	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Gourmanchema	gux	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Hausa	hau	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Jalkunan	bxl	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Jowulu	jow	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Jula	dyu	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Kaansa	gna	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Kalamse	knz	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Karaboro, Eastern	xrb	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	-1	1	-1
Karaboro, Western	kza	1	1	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kasem	xsm	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Khe	kqg	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Khisa	kqm	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Konabere	bbo	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Koromfe	kfz	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kpeego	cpo	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Kusaal	kus	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Lobi	lob	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Lyele	lee	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Maninkakan, Eastern	emk	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Marka	rkm	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Moba	mfq	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Moore	mos	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Natioro	nti	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Nuni, Northern	nuv	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Nuni, Southern	nnw	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	-1	1	-1
Paleni	pnl	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Pana	pnq	1	1	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Phuie	pug	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Samo, Matya	stj	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Samo, Maya	sym	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Samo, Southern	sbd	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Seeku	sos	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Senoufo, Nanerige	sen	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Senoufo, Senara	seq	1	0	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Senoufo, Sicite	sep	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Siamou	sif	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Sininkere	skq	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Sissala	sld	1	0	4 New Testament	-1	1	-1	1	-1
Songhay, Humburi Senni	hmb	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Tamasheq	taq	1	1	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Teen	lor	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Tiefo	tiq	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Toussian, Northern	tsp	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Toussian, Southern	wib	1	0	4 New Testament	1	-1	-1	1	-1
Turka	tuz	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Unknown	xxx	1	0	Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Viemo	vig	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Wara	wbf	1	0	2 Translation Started	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Winye	kst	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Yoruba	yor	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Zarma	dje	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Totals:	79	80	27		20	34	33	70	6

MAJOR RELIGIONS ▲	Percent
Buddhism	0.0 %
Christianity (Evangelical 10.6 %)	21.2 %
Ethnic Religions	23.1 %
Hinduism	0.0 %
Islam	55.0 %
Non-Religious	0.7 %
Other / Small Religions	0.0 %
Unknown	0.0 %

CHRISTIAN SEGMENTS ▲	Percent
Anglican	0.0 %
Independent	1.9 %
Orthodox	0.0 %
Other Christian	0.3 %
Protestant	42.1 %
Roman Catholic	54.7 %

Notes:

Major Religions: Religion percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each religion, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total population to derive the religion's percentage.

Christianity Segments: Christian segment percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all the people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each segment of Christianity, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total number of Christians to derive the Christian segment's percentage.

Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Burkina Faso. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

Church planting agencies in Burkina Faso
Christian ministry in Burkina Faso
Business as mission
Christian literature distribution
Evangelism agencies
Christian discipleship
Short term Christian missions

Long term Christian missions
Urban ministries
Christian media opportunities
Bible translation opportunities
Relief and development agencies
Clean water projects
Christian medical outreaches

Burkina Faso Statistics
People Groups	80
Unreached People Groups	27 (33.8%)
Population	21,433,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	2.9%
Population in Unreached	4,982,000 (23.2%)
Primary Religion	Islam
Percent Christian Adherent	21.2%
Percent Evangelical	10.6%
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	4.1%
Pioneer Workers Needed *	113
Country Progress Level	5 ●
Urbanization	29%
Continent	Africa
Region	Africa, West and Central
10/40 Window	Yes
Country Code	UV
Official Language(s)	French \| Moore
Literacy Rate	36%
Estimated Illiterate Population	13,717,000
Persecution Ranking	32 (1=High to 50=Low OD)

Burkina Faso Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Ethnolinguistic Map (Univ of Texas)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Burkina Faso Prayer Cards
	Burkina Faso prayer cards. All Unreached

Burkina Faso Links
Operation World
Stratus Earth Index
Prosperity Index
Social Progress Index
World Factbook
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing
National Bible Society

Burkina Faso Videos
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