The Deaf Tanzanians of Tanzania

The Deaf Tanzanians of Tanzania, numbering approximately 330,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Tanzanian Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Deaf Tanzanian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Tanzanian Sign Language (tza)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 330,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG033491
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Deaf Tanzanians of Tanzania

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: Tanzanian Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

100%
%
Tanzanian Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Tanzanian Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Tanzanian Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Tanzanian Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Deaf Tanzanians 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 Deaf Tanzanians:
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 Deaf Tanzanians of Tanzania

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal life.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

Deaf Tanzanian Across Countries (ROP3 - 116534) 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.

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