Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nyiha of Zambia

The Nyiha of Zambia, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnolinguistic people of northeastern Zambia who are part of a wider Nyiha population extending into southwestern Tanzania and are historically associated with the highlands between Lakes Nyasa, Rukwa, and Tanganyika. They mostly adhere to Animism and Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary Language(s): Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) (nkv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015622
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Nyiha of Zambia

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nyika (Malawi and Zambia)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nyika Speakers

Media Resources in Nyika (Malawi and Zambia):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nyika (Malawi and Zambia):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nyiha 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 Nyiha:
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 Nyiha of Zambia

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
readJohn 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Nyika Across Countries (ROP3 - 115458) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NyihaPG015622NyihaZambia10,500No Longer UnreachedNyika (Malawi and Zambia)Animism

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.

Scroll to Top