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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kisi of Tanzania

The Kisi of Tanzania, numbering approximately 37,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu people of Lake Malawi's northwestern shore in Tanzania, sustained by an Iron Age pottery tradition traded inland to the Sangu for cattle, alongside fishing and canoe ferrying, before adopting Nyakyusa as a second language around 1900. They mostly adhere to Animism and Kisi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary Language(s): Kisi (kiz)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 37,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014965
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Pray for the Kisi of Tanzania

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

54%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kisi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

75%
%
Kisi Speakers

Media Resources in Kisi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kisi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kisi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kisi 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 Kisi:
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

Pray specifically for the Kisi of Tanzania

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Kisi Across Countries (ROP3 - 105049) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KisiPG014965KisiTanzania37,500Engaged yet UnreachedKisiAnimism

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 Data Standards section.

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