People group profile · PG015064
The Zaramo of Tanzania
The Zaramo of Tanzania, numbering about 1,325,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu people who moved east into the Dar es Salaam coastal area from the Luguru and Kutu mountains around 1700, becoming the region's dominant ethnic group and converting overwhelmingly to Sunni Islam through eighteenth-century trade caravan routes.
They are an indigenous people in the Bantu, Swahili people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Zaramo.
Fast facts
- Country
- Tanzania
- Population
- 1,325,000
- Affinity group
- Sub-Saharan African Peoples
- People cluster
- Bantu, Swahili
- Primary language
- Zaramo (zaj)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Eastern Africa, Africa
- Location
- Morogoro region; Pwani region: Bagamoyo and Kisarawe districts, between Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam
Where they live
Gospel status
The Zaramo are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. 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 Zaramo
- 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
Primary religion
Sunni Islam · Islam
95% adherents
Primary language
Zaramo · Atlantic-Congo family
45% speak Zaramo
Gospel resources in Zaramo
- Bible available, published 2020
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Zaramo)
Bibles
- United Bible Societies, 1975 · audio
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Zaramo
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
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