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The Nsenga of Zambia

The Nsenga of Zambia, numbering approximately 1,090,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a matrilineal people whose name means journey, commemorating a fourteenth-century migration from the Luba-Lunda kingdom of Congo to Zambia's Eastern Province, later influenced by the neighboring Chewa in language and custom despite a distinct origin. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Nsenga is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Chewa-Sena
Primary Language(s): Nsenga (nse)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,090,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015619
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Pray for the Nsenga of Zambia

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

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nsenga
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nsenga Speakers

Media Resources in Nsenga:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nsenga:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nsenga bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nsenga 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 Nsenga:
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 Nsenga of Zambia

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.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Nsenga Across Countries (ROP3 - 107484) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
NsengaPG015619NsengaZambia1,090,000No Longer UnreachedNsengaEthnoreligion
NsengaPG015406NsengaMozambique82,500Engaged yet UnreachedNsengaAnimism

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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