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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nyamwezi of Tanzania

The Nyamwezi of Tanzania, numbering approximately 2,555,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Tanzania They are an Indigenous people, with Nyamwezi as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-Tanzania people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Nyamwezi.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary Language(s): Nyamwezi (nym)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,555,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015014
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Pray for the Nyamwezi 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

64%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nyamwezi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nyamwezi Speakers

Media Resources in Nyamwezi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nyamwezi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
United Bible Societies, 1951✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nyamwezi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nyamwezi 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 Nyamwezi:
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 Nyamwezi of Tanzania

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Nyamwezi Across Countries (ROP3 - 107537) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NyamweziPG015014NyamweziTanzania2,555,000Engaged yet UnreachedNyamweziSunni Islam

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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