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The Nyiha of Zambia

The Nyiha of Zambia, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnolinguistic people of northeastern Zambia who are part of a wider Nyiha population extending into southwestern Tanzania and are historically associated with the highlands between Lakes Nyasa, Rukwa, and Tanganyika. They mostly adhere to Animism and Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary Language(s): Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) (nkv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015622
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Pray for the Nyiha 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nyika (Malawi and Zambia)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nyika Speakers

Media Resources in Nyika (Malawi and Zambia):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nyika (Malawi and Zambia):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nyika (Malawi and Zambia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nyiha 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 Nyiha:
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 Nyiha of Zambia

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Nyika Across Countries (ROP3 - 115458) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NyihaPG015622NyihaZambia10,500No Longer UnreachedNyika (Malawi and Zambia)Animism

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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