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 Lambya of Malawi

The Lambya of Malawi, numbering approximately 84,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group primarily located in northwestern Malawi (especially in Chitipa District), with smaller populations in Tanzania (Songwe Region) and Zambia. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Lambya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Malawi
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary Language(s): Lambya (lai)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 84,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015326
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Lambya of Malawi

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

98%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lambya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Lambya Speakers

Media Resources in Lambya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lambya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of Malawi & The Word for the World, 2015✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lambya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lambya 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 Lambya:
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 Lambya of Malawi

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
readIsaiah 41:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not fear, for the Lord is with them, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold them with His righteous right hand.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns”
readIsaiah 52:7

Pray that God will provide open doors for believers who cross cultures to share the good news of salvation with those who need it. Pray that He will give them joy as they see Him move.

Lambya Across Countries (ROP3 - 105616) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LambyaPG014973LambyaTanzania116,000No Longer UnreachedLambyaRoman Catholicism
LambyaPG015326LambyaMalawi84,000No Longer UnreachedLambyaEthnoreligion
LambyaPG048540LambyaZambia22,500No Longer UnreachedLambyaEthnoreligion

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