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The Yao of Zimbabwe

The Yao of Zimbabwe, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a major Bantu ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the southern coastal area of Lake Malawi in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Yao is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zimbabwe
People Cluster: Bantu, Makua-Yao
Primary Language(s): Yao (yao)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015686

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Pray for the Yao 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

—
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yao
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Yao Speakers

Media Resources in Yao:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Yao:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2008 Bible Society of Malawi✓✓
PBT Version✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yao bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yao 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 Yao:
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 Yao of Zimbabwe

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
readPsalm 66:5

Pray that many here will come and see what the Creator God has done on their behalf.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Yao Across Countries (ROP3 - 110980) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YaoPG015686YaoZimbabwe66,500Engaged yet UnreachedYaoSunni Islam
YaoPG015062YaoTanzania1,045,000Unengaged and UnreachedYaoSunni Islam
YaoPG015426YaoMozambique672,000Engaged yet UnreachedYaoSunni Islam
YaoPG015343YaoMalawi1,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedYaoSunni Islam

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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