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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ndebele of Zimbabwe

The Ndebele of Zimbabwe, numbering approximately 2,170,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Nguni ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa They are an Indigenous people, with Ndebele as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Nguni people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and North Ndebele is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zimbabwe
People Cluster: Bantu, Nguni
Primary Language(s): North Ndebele (nde)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,170,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015667
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Pray for the Ndebele of Zimbabwe

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

75%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: North Ndebele
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Ndebele (Zimbabwe) Speakers

Media Resources in North Ndebele:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in North Ndebele:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1978 Bible Society of Zimbabwe✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the North Ndebele bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ndebele 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 Ndebele:
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 Ndebele of Zimbabwe

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Ndebele Across Countries (ROP3 - 107154) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NdebelePG015614NdebeleZambia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth NdebeleEthnoreligion
NdebelePG015667NdebeleZimbabwe2,170,000No Longer UnreachedNorth NdebeleProtestantism

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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