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The Makua of Tanzania

The Makua of Tanzania, numbering approximately 947,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a central Bantu ethnic group indigenous to northern Mozambique and the southern border provinces of Tanzania. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Makhuwa-Meetto is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Makua-Yao
Primary Language(s): Makhuwa-Meetto (mgh)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 947,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014979
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Pray for the Makua 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

77%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Makhuwa-Meetto
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Makhuwa-Meetto Speakers

Media Resources in Makhuwa-Meetto:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Makhuwa-Meetto:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Malhehano O Naanano Wa Attu Onkhaye✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Makhuwa-Meetto 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% 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 Makua:
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 Makua of Tanzania

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Makhuwa-Meetto Across Countries (ROP3 - 106087) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MakuaPG014979MakuaTanzania947,000Unengaged and UnreachedMakhuwa-MeettoSunni Islam
MakuaPG015274MakuaComoros14,500Engaged yet UnreachedMakhuwa-MeettoSunni Islam
MakuaPG015367MakuaMayotte3,300Engaged yet UnreachedMakhuwa-MeettoFolk Islam
MakuaPG015663MakuaZimbabwe16,500Engaged yet UnreachedMakhuwa-MeettoAnimism
Makhuwa-MettoPG015390Makhuwa-MettoMozambique1,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedMakhuwa-MeettoSunni Islam

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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