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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nyamwezi of Tanzania

The Nyamwezi of Tanzania, numbering approximately 2,560,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Tanzania. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Nyamwezi is their primary language.

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: 2,560,000
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

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
readPsalm 51:17

Pray that those who want to achieve salvation through their works will be unsettled in their pursuit and that, with a broken spirit and contrite heart, they will trust in Christ.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
readPsalm 111:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will praise the Lord with their whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NyamweziPG015014NyamweziTanzania2,560,000Engaged 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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