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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tsonga-Shangaan of South Africa

The Tsonga-Shangaan of South Africa, numbering approximately 2,630,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group indigenous to southern Mozambique and the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Tsonga is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tsonga-Shangaan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Southeast
Primary Language(s): Tsonga (tso)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,630,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015542
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Pray for the Tsonga-Shangaan of South Africa

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tsonga
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Tsonga Speakers

Media Resources in Tsonga:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tsonga:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sociedade Bíblica de Moçambique, 2014✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tsonga bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tsonga-Shangaan 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 Tsonga-Shangaan:
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 Tsonga-Shangaan of South Africa

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
readPsalm 86:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord with all their heart, knowing that He is the one true God and will teach them His ways.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

Tsonga Across Countries (ROP3 - 110220) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TsongaPG015424TsongaMozambique4,055,000Engaged yet UnreachedTsongaEthnoreligion
Tsonga-ShangaanPG015542Tsonga-ShangaanSouth Africa2,630,000No Longer UnreachedTsongaProtestantism
TsongaPG015560TsongaEswatini28,000No Longer UnreachedTsongaProtestantism
TsongaPG015680TsongaZimbabwe5,500No Longer UnreachedTsongaProtestantism

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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