Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tsimehety of Madagascar

The Tsimehety of Madagascar, numbering approximately 2,365,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Madagascar; Antsirana and Fianarantsoa provinces They are an Indigenous people, with Tsimehety as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Tsimihety Malagasy is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Tsimihety Malagasy (xmw)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,365,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015306
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Tsimehety of Madagascar

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tsimihety Malagasy
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malagasy, Tsimihety Speakers

Media Resources in Tsimihety Malagasy:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tsimihety Malagasy:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tsimihety Malagasy bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tsimehety 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 Tsimehety:
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 Tsimehety of Madagascar

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will be freed from the emptiness of fading hopes and find lasting life and truth in the unchanging Word of God.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
read2 Corinthians 12:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties, having hope because Christ's power is made perfect in their weakness.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Tsimehety Across Countries (ROP3 - 110215) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TsimehetyPG015306TsimehetyMadagascar2,365,000Engaged yet UnreachedTsimihety MalagasyAnimism

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.

Scroll to Top