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The Makhuwa-Makhuwana of Mozambique

The Makhuwa-Makhuwana of Mozambique, numbering approximately 5,190,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the largest ethnic cluster of northern Mozambique, a matrilineal Bantu people established in the region since the first millennium CE and historically dominated by Marawi invaders before centuries of trade and slave-raiding conflict with the Yao. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Makhuwa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Makhuwa-Makhuwana

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mozambique
People Cluster: Bantu, Makua-Yao
Primary Language(s): Makhuwa (vmw)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 5,190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015389
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Pray for the Makhuwa-Makhuwana of Mozambique

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Makhuwa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

95%
%
Makhuwa Speakers

Media Resources in Makhuwa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Makhuwa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
BSM Edition✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Makhuwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Makhuwa-Makhuwana 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 Makhuwa-Makhuwana:
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 Makhuwa-Makhuwana of Mozambique

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
readPsalm 89:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will declare and record His faithfulness and love to be passed on from generation to generation.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Makhuwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 114791) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Makhuwa-MakhuwanaPG015389Makhuwa-MakhuwanaMozambique5,190,000Engaged yet UnreachedMakhuwaEthnoreligion

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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