 Over 99% of Mandinka are Muslim.«ref name=ref1>

The Mandinka people live primarily in West Africa, particularly in the Gambia and the Guinea where they are the largest ethnic group.Major populations of the Mandinka people also live in Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Mauritania.Their traditional society has featured socially stratified castes, from at least the 13th century.