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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Zambezi Tonga of Zimbabwe

The Zambezi Tonga of Zimbabwe, numbering approximately 161,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a Bantu‑speaking ethnic group of southern Africa whose traditional homeland lies along the Zambezi River and its escarpments, mainly in southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe Tonga, BaTonga They are an Indigenous people, with Tonga (Zambia) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Tonga (Zambia).

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Zambezi Tonga

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zimbabwe
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Tonga (Zambia) (toi)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 161,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015687
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Pray for the Zambezi Tonga 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: Tonga (Zambia)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Tonga (Zambia) Speakers

Media Resources in Tonga (Zambia):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tonga (Zambia):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1963 Bible Society of Zambia✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Zambezi Tonga:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Zambezi Tonga of Zimbabwe

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.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Tonga, Zambezi Across Countries (ROP3 - 111137) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Zambezi TongaPG015645Zambezi TongaZambia2,095,000Engaged yet UnreachedTonga (Zambia)Ethnoreligion
Zambezi TongaPG015687Zambezi TongaZimbabwe161,000Unengaged and UnreachedTonga (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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