The Swahili of Mozambique

The Swahili of Mozambique, numbering approximately 18,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian trading people of Mozambique's coast, part of the Swahili civilization whose Indian Ocean commerce and Islamic faith, adopted from ninth-century Bantu traders, built city-states stretching south to ancient Sofala. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Swahili (individual language) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mozambique
People Cluster: Bantu, Swahili
Primary Language(s): Swahili (individual language) (swh)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 18,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015420
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Swahili 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Swahili (individual language)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Swahili Speakers

Media Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Swahili (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Habari Njema (Interconfessional)✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Swahili (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Swahili 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 Swahili:
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 Swahili of Mozambique

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

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.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Swahili Across Countries (ROP3 - 109644) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

17 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
SwahiliSwahiliUganda5,600Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliUnited States82,000No Longer UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliCanada9,300Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Coastal SwahiliCoastal SwahiliKenya60,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliSeychelles600Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliMayotte10,500Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliComoros1,200Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Arabized AfricansArabized AfricansSaudi Arabia555,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Coastal SwahiliCoastal SwahiliTanzania1,095,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliRwanda21,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Central SwahiliCentral SwahiliCongo, Democratic Republic of the64,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliBurundi14,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Black AfricansBlack AfricansUnited Arab Emirates31,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliSudan34,000Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
Bantu SwahiliBantu SwahiliSomalia55,500Unengaged and UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Sunni Islam
SwahiliSwahiliMozambique18,500Engaged yet UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Folk Islam
SwahiliSwahiliZambia39,500No Longer UnreachedSwahili (individual language)Ethnoreligion

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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