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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

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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