The Haya of Tanzania

The Haya of Tanzania, numbering approximately 3,010,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu people of northwestern Tanzania between the Kagera River and Lake Victoria, traditionally organized into patrilineal clans and several small kingdoms. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Haya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Lakes
Primary Language(s): Haya (hay)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 3,010,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014938
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Pray for the Haya 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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

70%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Haya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

90%
%
Haya Speakers

Media Resources in Haya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Haya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Bible Society of Tanzania✓

1 entry

Or check out the Haya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Haya 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 Haya:
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 Haya of Tanzania

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
read2 Corinthians 5:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will serve as God's ambassadors, sharing the message of reconciliation with others.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Haya Across Countries (ROP3 - 103741) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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