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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bemba of Zimbabwe

The Bemba of Zimbabwe, numbering approximately 33,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a prominent Bantu ethnic group of Zambia. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bemba (Zambia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zimbabwe
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Bemba (Zambia) (bem)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 33,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015648
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Pray for the Bemba of Zimbabwe

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bemba (Zambia)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bemba Speakers

Media Resources in Bemba (Zambia):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bemba (Zambia):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1956 Icipingo Cipya✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bemba (Zambia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bemba 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 Bemba:
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 Bemba of Zimbabwe

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
readPsalm 46:10

Pray that those who do not yet worship Jesus will be still and know that He is God, that He will be exalted among them and in all the earth.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
readActs 16:15

Pray that God will bring entire families and households to faith in Him and raise up servant-leaders from among them.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Bemba Across Countries (ROP3 - 101243) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
BembaPG015648BembaZimbabwe33,500No Longer UnreachedBemba (Zambia)Ethnoreligion
BembaPG014910BembaTanzania83,000No Longer UnreachedBemba (Zambia)Ethnoreligion
BembaPG014499BembaCongo, Democratic Republic of the713,000No Longer UnreachedBemba (Zambia)Roman Catholicism
BembaPG015567BembaZambia4,695,000Engaged yet UnreachedBemba (Zambia)Ethnoreligion

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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