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 Ndebele of Zimbabwe

The Ndebele of Zimbabwe, numbering approximately 2,170,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Nguni ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa They are an Indigenous people, with Ndebele as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Nguni people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and North Ndebele is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zimbabwe
People Cluster: Bantu, Nguni
Primary Language(s): North Ndebele (nde)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,170,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015667
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Ndebele 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

75%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: North Ndebele
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Ndebele (Zimbabwe) Speakers

Media Resources in North Ndebele:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in North Ndebele:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1978 Bible Society of Zimbabwe✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the North Ndebele bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ndebele 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 Ndebele:
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 Ndebele of Zimbabwe

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Ndebele Across Countries (ROP3 - 107154) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NdebelePG015667NdebeleZimbabwe2,170,000No Longer UnreachedNorth NdebeleProtestantism
NdebelePG015614NdebeleZambia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth NdebeleEthnoreligion

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