The Nyanja of Eswatini

The Nyanja of Eswatini, numbering approximately 7,300 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Chewa (Nyanja) diaspora community in Eswatini, numbering only a few thousand as the kingdom's most widely used immigrant language, away from the Chewa homeland of Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Chichewa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Eswatini
People Cluster: Bantu, Chewa-Sena
Primary Language(s): Chichewa (nya)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 7,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015556
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Nyanja of Eswatini

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chichewa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Chichewa Speakers

Media Resources in Chichewa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Chichewa:

Or check out the Chichewa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nyanja are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Nyanja:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Nyanja of Eswatini

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readLuke 18:17

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will have simple, childlike confidence that He will provide for their needs.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Nyanja, Chewa Across Countries (ROP3 - 107548) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Chewa NyanjaChewa NyanjaMalawi8,520,000No Longer UnreachedChichewaEthnoreligion
NyanjaNyanjaMozambique1,455,000Engaged yet UnreachedChichewaEthnoreligion
Western NyanjaWestern NyanjaZambia854,000No Longer UnreachedChichewaProtestantism
NyanjaNyanjaZimbabwe817,000Engaged yet UnreachedChichewaEthnoreligion
NyanjaNyanjaTanzania71,000Engaged yet UnreachedChichewaRoman Catholicism
NyanjaNyanjaEswatini7,300No Longer UnreachedChichewaProtestantism

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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