Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG015052

The Tongwe of Tanzania

The Tongwe of Tanzania, numbering about 63,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Tanzania.

They are an indigenous people in the Bantu, Central-Tanzania people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism, and they primarily speak Tongwe.

Pray for the TongwePrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Tongwe people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tongwe

Fast facts

Country
Tanzania
Population
63,500
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Bantu, Central-Tanzania
Primary language
Tongwe (tny)
Primary religion
Roman Catholicism
Strategic Progress Index ?
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Eastern Africa, Africa
Location
Kigoma region: Kigoma district; Kigoma and Rukwa regions east, small groups (20%–30% of the population) in Nguruka and Uvinza villages; Lake Tanganyika west shore

Where they live

Gospel status

The Tongwe are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Tongwe

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Roman Catholicism · Christianity

19% adherents

Primary language

Tongwe · Atlantic-Congo family

58% speak Tongwe

Gospel resources in Tongwe

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Tongwe

  1. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
  2. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  3. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  4. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.

Download a prayer guide

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.