The Ng'umbo of Zambia

The Ng'umbo of Zambia, numbering approximately 227,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bemba-related people of the Bangweulu region of Luapula Province whose communities occupy the mainland and islands around Lake Bangweulu and maintain a distinct Ng'umbo dialect and chiefly tradition. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bemba (Zambia) is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Ng'umbo

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Bemba (Zambia) (bem)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 227,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015616

Pray for the Ng'umbo 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.

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

Bible Resources in Bemba (Zambia):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1956 Icipingo Cipya✓✓

1 entry

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

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Ng'umbo 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 Ng'umbo:
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 Ng'umbo of Zambia

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

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.

Ng'umbo Across Countries (ROP3 - 107289) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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