The Tambaro of Ethiopia

The Tambaro of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 160,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Cushitic-speaking subgroup closely related to the Kambaata of southern Ethiopia, whose homeland once formed part of the historic Kambaata kingdom before its conquest by Emperor Menelik II in the late nineteenth century. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kambaata is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Sidama
Primary Language(s): Kambaata (ktb)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 160,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011648
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tambaro of Ethiopia

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

76%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kambaata
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Kambaata Speakers

Media Resources in Kambaata:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Kambaata:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of Ethiopia✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kambaata bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tambaro 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 Tambaro:
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 Tambaro of Ethiopia

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
readPsalm 51:17

Pray that those who want to achieve salvation through their works will be unsettled in their pursuit and that, with a broken spirit and contrite heart, they will trust in Christ.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Timbaro Across Countries (ROP3 - 115963) 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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