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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mbugu of Tanzania

The Mbugu of Tanzania, numbering approximately 93,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic community of northeastern Tanzania's Usambara Mountains, descended from Cushitic-associated ancestors who became integrated with neighboring Bantu peoples while preserving a distinctive Ma’a/Mbugu identity and linguistic heritage. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Mbugu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Other Sub-Saharan African
Primary Language(s): Mbugu (mhd)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 93,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014988
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Pray for the Mbugu 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

45%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbugu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

85%
%
Mbugu Speakers

Media Resources in Mbugu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mbugu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mbugu 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 Mbugu:
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 Mbugu of Tanzania

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
readColossians 3:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, as they look to Christ for guidance and strength.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

Mbugu Across Countries (ROP3 - 110501) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MbuguPG014988MbuguTanzania93,000Engaged yet UnreachedMbuguProtestantism

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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