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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
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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!
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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

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

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.

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